Savage
by BloodRedDemon
Summary: "Spiritual pressure increases the fastest when the soul is in danger of termination." Urahara Kisuke: Episode 18. So why did nothing change for the terrified orange haired boy who's whole world died in front of him? In this story; it did. Now, Ichigo Kurosaki, a different being to any the Shinigami have met before, is heading to the Soul Society.
1. The Death Of Masaki Kurosaki

**This is my story, Savage. The first Bleach story I'm publishing here, and I hope that you enjoy it.**

**I'll say here that the first couple of chapters are similar to Canon, it has scenes that are new, and some slight variation, but I need the whole Ichigo regaining his Soul Reaper abilities before he rescues Rukia.**

**Ichigo will be more powerful than Canon, though not what I believe to be unreasonably so. **

**I own nothing, and am making no money off this, or any, story.**

**This will contain spoilers, though I would assume everyone reading it will follow Bleach.**

**Any views expressed in this story, especially by Hichigo, do not necessarily mirror my own views.**

**I'll appreciate any reviews, other than what I think are called "Flames". Those will just be ignored.**

**-()-**

Hollow Zangetsu talking: **Spleens taste surprisingly good.**

Old man Zangetsu talking: _Do not hesitate._

? talking: Omnivores eat plants.

**-()-**

A young boy, hair a unique shade of orange, wept underneath the corpse of the most important woman, or, for that matter, person, in his world. The sound muffled into her shoulder as he unconsciously huddled into the final comfort Masaki Kurosaki would be able to grant him.

That was the day that Ichigo Kurosaki; the boy who's world lived and died with his mother, died. And, unknown to any besides the child himself, the day Ichigo Kurosaki; the Human-Soul-Reaper, was born.

* * *

><p>Two months later, the same child sat up with a scream. One of terror. His hands clasped on his head, and he shook, not paying any attention to the crimson liquid that stained them red. He had grown used to the guilt-formed gloves. Blood was on his hands, and the boy doubted that would ever change. How could he redeem himself, after all?<p>

He felt a pair of arms wrap around him; the only suitable occupant giving him comfort; while the remaining 3 looked on with varying degrees of emotion, though little was shown of the feelings that lay beneath their skin. One felt an all consuming sadness that wasn't shown on his regal face, another hid his sympathy behind a half-hearted grin; the kid was strong, normally, but how was he meant to take his revenge in an 8 year old's body? The final figure was not able to understand what was happening; but he could tell that, for some reason, his future wielder was upset. And, so, his crimson eyes glinted with anger and frustration as he could not find the cause in the gravity-defying city in which they resided. It must have still been about the female that perished. The one that was always on the boy's mind.

The boy's shoulders shook as he sobbed into the kind lady's shoulder.

* * *

><p>Almost seven years later, Ichigo Kurosaki stared unflinchingly at the long haired Shinigami in front of him as his body moved without command. It was a sensation he remembered; something he had been shown years ago so that, in the case that it was necessary, he would not fight his partners for control. And so, when Zangetsu, for he assumed it was the old man, moved him no more than a few millimetres to his left, he trusted the spirit implicitly. Even with the months he had gone without <em>them<em>.

Ichigo was alive. There was no doubt in the minds of his observers of that, but he was weak. He was human; how could anything else be expected of him? For him to have any chance to save the girl he had grown inexplicably fond of, at least in the minds of three of his occupants, in the months prior. But that would be up to him. They could do nothing to help him from in here, and that was a fact that brought frustrated growls from two of the male spirits, a stony silence from the third, and a sad sigh from the lone female in his mind.

His accessible reserves of Reiryoku, previously filled with solely Ichigo's sizeable reserves and that from the imposter Zanpakuto, was rapidly draining from the Soul Reaper Captain's strike. Their wielder would need to gain access to his latent Death God abilities for the leak to be plugged. Hopefully, that would happen soon; or the storm would not stop any time in the foreseeable future.

As Rukia Kuchiki, the Soul Reaper that more than one of the spirits blamed for this situation, looked back, she would be willing to swear that the amber eyes, of her newly found human partner, looking after her flashed a violent red before the orange haired head dropped to the ground; the removal of his energy leaving Ichigo in an almost catatonic state.

* * *

><p>"... You see, spiritual pressure increases most quickly when the soul is in danger of termination. The fact that you dodged the first attack shows that you have restored your power. And, now that you have restored your spiritual power beautifully, what do you say we celebrate? How about we-"<p>

The man was interrupted by an axe, wielded by the large form of Tessai, swinging down between Kisuke and Ichigo; severing the chain extended from the human soul's chest.

"Move on to lesson two?"

* * *

><p>Five minutes later, the conversation had progressed rather far. Ichigo was lying, face down, on the ground with Tessai sat, at attention, on his back.<p>

"And one more thing; your chain will erode from the point at which it was cut. If it reaches your chest, you will become a Hollow. So what will it be? Will you become a Shinigami? Or will you become a Hollow?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Ichigo asked with a slight grin. "Let's get started."

"Very well." The bucket-hatted man pointed his fan off to the side. "Go."

The ground beneath the floored Plus soul gave way, and the two affected fell; the depth of the hole given away by the panicked, drawn out expletive from Ichigo Kurosaki.

"What the-" Ichigo questioned, as he discovered metal rods had been bent around his arms; binding them behind his back.

"Forgive this arrogance." Tessai, the other in the shaft, said as he noted Ichigo had regained consciousness from the brief spell of his daze. "But for the duration of this lesson, you are forbidden the use of your arms. Bakudo #99: Kin!" The groggy boy's arms locked behind his back, and he gave a surprised grunt.

"Ichigo!" Urahara called from the top of the hole, peering down into the cavern below. "At the bottom of the shattered shaft it will take three days for your chain to deteriorate." The boy at the bottom frowned in confusion. "For this lesson, you're required to climb out without the use of your arms."

"So I'm able to access the powers of a Death God now?" He directed to Tessai, who nodded; rather solemnly. He must have been expecting Ichigo to fail; or at least preparing himself for that possibility. "Oh. That's good."

The orange haired soul plopped down onto the ground, sitting cross legged and closing his eyes.

"No, no Ichigo! You need to climb out!" Kisuke called down, humour in his tone. "Kurosaki?" He continued when the boy did not respond. "Tessai, what's going on?"

"I don't know, boss! He just asked if he could access the powers of a Shinigami now, then started meditating!" The large man yelled up.

"Well nudge him and wake him up!"

"Will do Boss!"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, time had slowed for Ichigo. Though it was far from obvious from his point of view; the same as it always used to be when he appeared in the backwards world.<p>

"Oi! Old man Zangetsu!" He looked around in front of him. "Hichigo! Ne-"

"Behind you, Ichigo." The older 'Getsu's voice stated, prompting his wielder to spin around and face him, along with the others.

"Ah. It's good to see you all again." Ichigo said with a grin; in what would have been an odd occurrence outside of his inner world. But why hide your relief from 'people' that could read your mind? "How're you doing?"

"We're as good as you are, Ichigo. Though the weather has been rather unpleasant since the female Kuchiki was taken." The oldest-looking of them stated, speaking for the others, too. "Happily, though, it has cleared up for now."

"Great." Ichigo nodded. "Now, what do I need to do to get _my_ powers instead of piggybacking Rukia's?"

"You need to find your Zanpakuto."

"Just the one?" Now that didn't make sense. "I don't understand, why would there just be one of you?"

"It is symbolic, Ichigo. Finding the blade will be finding your Shinigami abilities. The time will come that you will have to convince each of us, in the case that you have yet to fulfil our criteria, properly of your abilities; for Bankai, of course, but that will not be now."

"Oh, okay, I understand." Ichigo nodded. "So where will my sword be? And what are the rules regarding my finding it?"

"It will be in a box somewhere on one of this world's buildings." The tall, black dressed man pointed at one such Skyscraper to emphasise his point. "No rules. Just find the blade."

"Right. And who hid the blade?"

"Why does that matter?" Zangetsu raised an eyebrow; wondering what his wielder meant exactly.

"Well; if it's you, then it will be in the last place I look; the whole 'never give up' thing." Those watching knew that this wasn't meant to belittle the lesson, but that it was just Ichigo's nature to treat it casually. "Hichigo," The name that made it easy to differentiate between the two Zangetsus. "Would just be the first place I looked and he'd be there to fight me before I could get it-"

"Ah, I see your point." Zangetsu responded. "It wasn't hidden by any of us. It is simply there. A manifestation of a part of _you_, not something any of us can control."

"Okay, so it's a matter of my ability to sense that part of myself." The 4 nodded their confirmation. "Then I'll get going." The orange haired man turned to face an unoccupied region of his mind-scape, and pulled up the memory of Uryuu, the arrogant boy from his class. What had he said? Shinigami's soul ribbons were red?

There.

He gripped the ribbon and yanked on the scarlet fabric in one quick motion. Oddly, he felt himself soar forwards instead of the box coming to him. Following the path, Ichigo channelled his Reiatsu into his feet, and vanished in a burst of speed; the technique that Shinigami called Flash Step.

The four figures stayed still in their places, waiting for Ichigo to return. The same thought ran through their minds. Well, the same vague thought.

'Finally, I'm going to be wielded.'

Ichigo returned in a slight flash. He had been gone for no more than 30 seconds; far faster than could be expected.

"Impressive as always, Ichigo." The female occupant commented with a smile. "Not that I find that surprising. We know you better than that by now, after all."

"Thank you, Nejibana."

**-()-**

**One more thing: If I make any mistakes in spelling, I'm very sorry. I couldn't spot any in English, but I'm not good at proof reading for Japanese spelling, because... well, I'm not Japanese and don't speak it.**

**Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter.**


	2. Ichigo Returns

**Not much else to say since the last chapter. **

**I still don't own anything you recognise.**

**Any views expressed in this story, especially by Hichigo, do not necessarily mirror my own views. **

**Also, I do not intend, in any way, to make light of people cutting their wrists.**

**Hope you enjoy the chapter.**

**-()-**

Hollow Zangetsu talking: **Spleens taste surprisingly good.**

Old man Zangetsu talking: _Do not hesitate._

Nejibana talking: Lonely people can swim, too.

**-()-**

Tessai; the former captain of the Kido corps', exiled Shinigami, and worker at Urahara's shop, was poking the downed Kurosaki with the toes of his boot. The boy still wasn't reacting, though. Surprising, since the large man had been nudging him for the past 5 minutes. It was almost like Ichigo was in...

"Jinzeeeeeeee-" A hand lashed out, and grabbed the big man's leg, before its owner stood up and, with a twist of his body, threw the Kido master upwards, and out of the pit; a high pitched scream accompanying the large man's flight.

"What the? Tessai?" Jinta wondered aloud. How had that happened? All that was in there with him was a plus soul. This thought was forcibly confirmed to be incorrect as a voice spoke from behind he, Ururu and Urahara.

"Was the shaft really necessary, Urahara?" A fist slammed into the back of the blonde's head, and he flew forward. The exile let out a panicked yell, which was quickly cut off as he, face first, collided with the wall of the shattered shaft.

"Darn." He uttered as he fell back, and down into the depths of the hole. Then, the shop owner was suddenly climbing out of the hole; having flashed up to the edge while out of the now-shinigami's sight.

"Well, that was an impressive punch Kurosaki-san. And I'm guessing from your attire that you have managed your task. This must be some kind of record." The bucket-hatted man grinned at his self-named apprentice. "Shall we begin lesson three?" He peered at the Zanpakuto that was, once again, taking up the majority of Ichigo's back. Or, more accurately, the sheath of the unnamed sword was.

"Fine. What's this lesson?"

"Simple. Knock the hat off my head." He tapped the rim to reinforce the goal. "And... begin." The boy drew his blade, and scowled when he noticed that the sword was still only a fraction of the length it had been previously. The quiet captain had snapped it when he and Pineapple head came to kidnap Rukia.

'Oh, well. I don't imagine that its a good idea to release so near the two kids.' He commented to himself, and the others that could hear his thoughts. 'I'll have to make do. Hopefully, since it's just knocking the hat off, I'll be able to accomplish it with the hilt.' He blurred forwards, in an impressive show of speed, and swung the broken blade at his opponent; aiming for his head and the hat resting on said man's scalp. But the eccentric man had moved, and his blade swished past his ear.

Kisuke, complete with a grin, took a hold of his cane and it separated into two parts. One, the far more worrying, was a shining blade, while he dropped the other, the disguised sheath, to the floor.

"I thought only Zanpakuto could harm Soul Reapers." Ichigo pointed out, eyeing the thin blade. "What do you hope to achieve with _that_?"

"Oh? I didn't expect you to remember that tidbit just yet, Kurosaki-san. Well, since you've asked: _Awaken, Benehime_!" The blade smoothed out and transformed into a medium sized, elegant blade with a slightly curved hilt and a crimson tassel dangling from the base.

"Hmm..." Ichigo huffed slightly. "Doesn't give away much about its capabilities, that." The boy scowled. Then his face turned to one of confusion when he noticed the pressure of the man's Reiatsu. "Hang on, how are those two not being crushed by your pressure? Releasing should have hurt them, at least."

"Ah. You don't really think I'd miss something so vital when I built my training area, do you Kurosaki-san? I'm insulted." He gave a rather pathetic pout.

"Eh. You seem like a bit of a dumb ass to me, so yeah." The teen shrugged, followed by a cloud appearing over the older man. "But that's good, at least. I can see what I'm capable of out here." He readjusted his grip on the large hilt.

'Any of you particularly want to take this guy?' He asked the residents of his mind.

'**You gonna kill him?**' Hichigo questioned.

'No.'

'**Maim?**'

'No.'

'**Then don't waste my time.**' The Hollow went back to doing whatever he did when Ichigo wasn't paying attention; the human was a bit wary to ask _what_ exactly that was.

Following the sadistic spirit's hope of violence, Nejibana and the old man responded without any particular care either way; neither had any particular blood-thirst; unless their wielder was harmed, that is. Lastly, he heard a growl that could be taken either way, but had a general feel of anger and anticipation. Ichigo tended to understand his last Zanpakuto, and so assumed he had understood the spirit this time, too.

The orange haired Shinigami brought the remnants of his oversized blade to his left arm, and pressed it against his skin.

"_Savage_..." He ran the blade down his flesh, bringing forth blood that ran down his arm. "_Tabigarasu_!"

And a torrent of blue Reiatsu hid Ichigo from those watching's view. When he was uncovered, it left Urahara confused. What he saw was far from the norm for a Shikai form. Instead of the blade repairing itself and changing into a more obvious, and unique, weapon, there were two katanas, one being quite a bit longer than the average and the other a more traditional length, and a single wakizashi now rested on Ichigo's hips. While the orange haired boy was dressed in a sleeveless Kimono. While the attire was not weird, having such plain blades for a Shikai was rather ineffective.

"Where's your Shikai? It cannot be those Katanas, can it?" The ex-captain queried. He must be missing something.

"Right here." Ichigo stated, raising his hands. The captain was even more confused; he really shouldn't have missed that. Those... _gauntlets_ were rather obvious. The crimson, clawed hands extended to cover his forearms up to the elbow, showing defensive capabilities, and had small distortions, implying that it had been moulded onto the forearms underneath and hastily dried. That suggestion was true; as Tabigarasu had taken a form he believed to be pleasant to Ichigo, and ended up taking the unfortunate metaphor of guilt that had since passed. Ichigo was actually quite fond of the weapon now. It allowed him greater freedom than the other Shikais, yet did not sacrifice fighting ability. Destructive capacity and elegance, for sure, but not fighting ability.

The human-turned-Shinigami darted forward with a burst of unrefined Shunpo and appeared in front of Urahara, swinging his, now clenched, fist in an uppercut aimed at the older man's chin. Urahara leapt back, avoiding the attack easily enough, and observed as a ball of, what looked to be, wind shot up before fizzing out a little before the top of the cavern.

"Sing, Benehime!" Urahara announced, and a wave of crimson energy shot towards Ichigo. It was weakened, of course, to reduce the damage that Kisuke expected when it hit. He did not believe that Ichigo knew any speed techniques, after all. So, he missed it when his opponent flash stepped behind him, and entirely missed the same boy drawing back his left fist and jabbing the blonde in his kidneys. He, too, reduced the force as he punched out at the man, and so the ex-Shinigami was only thrown forward a _little_ bit.

"Oof!" Urahara grunted at the impact, but quickly climbed back to his feet once he stopped rolling. "Impressive, Kurosaki-san. But my hat is still on; you will have to do better than that to remove it." The bucket-hat had, indeed, somehow remained on his head.

"Sorry about that." Ichigo shot forwards, in another burst of speed, and swung again, this time aiming for Kisuke's head, in a punch that would have knocked the hat clean off his head, had the ex-captain not known Shunpo too. This time, the semi-transparent ball crashed into a medium sized rock and split it into two equal pieces.

Spinning, Ichigo raised his arm just in time to block a blow from Benehime to his side, the ramrod straight blade bouncing off his raised right arm, just as his left fist struck its wielder in the stomach in a stronger blow that threw him a half dozen feet into the air, allowing Ichigo to capitalize on the opportunity by swiping his fist again and catching the falling man on the head, smashing it, along with the rest of his body, into the rocky terrain below their feet.

As the man lay in a slight slump; not unconscious, but dazed, Ichigo leant down and plucked the hat off his head, leaping back as the other fighter rose to his feet unsteadily and gave a strained, wheezy chuckle.

"Well done, Kurosaki. That was... good. Very good." He waddled over to the human boy holding his hat, and the orange-haired newly-Shinigami handed it back to him. "May I ask how you seem so experienced already? By my reckoning you've had no training at all. Other than the brawling you are well known to partake in; but I doubt that that would teach you to use Shunpo."

"Not training exactly. But I've been talking with my Zanpakutos for... seven years, I think, now. I sparred with them sometimes, and that helped teach me to fight with them." Ichigo explained, with a shrug; not realising that this was abnormal, simply because he had no frame of reference.

"Hang on... Are you saying you have more than one? And how on earth did you speak with them while you were still human?!" The shop keeper exclaimed, losing his composure briefly.

"Yeah, I have three. And I just went into my world while I was asleep?"

"Three?!"

"Well... Three and a half, maybe. One has two swords." Technically, not a lie. Zangetsu did have two blades.

"Wow..." Kisuke said, before muttering. "You're a scary kid, aren't you Ichigo." His instincts were telling him to study the teen in front of him, but he resisted temptation; though he would certainly observe. "Well, let's get to training, shall we?" Kisuke asked, merrily. "After all, we still have ten days."

* * *

><p>Two days later, Ichigo was entirely focused on the training he had been assigned. His fists were, yet again, clad in the crimson gauntlets, and he was stood 200 metres from a cliff face, targets lined up a few metres from said wall. His challenge was to hit the targets, and nothing else. And he was failing spectacularly.<p>

He had never worked much on his aim. Especially not outside of a combat situation; where he would just rely on his well-honed, after such a long time of fighting opponents of a greater calibre than him, instincts.

Now, when he was calm, and able to over think what he was doing, he struggled to so much as get his shots on target, let alone have the perfect amount of Reiatsu in the shot to stop from carrying on the small distance to the wall behind.

Instead, the wall was scarred with cracks and craters, and, although several targets had been obliterated after Ichigo lost control of his infamous temper and sent more force at the dummies than he was supposed to, the points of significance in this particular task were largely untouched.

'Ichigo_,_' Nejibana spoke up. 'Focus on the result, not the action. You know you can hit them; you've done more difficult things before by far. And if that does not work, think about why you are doing this. That is your reason to succeed, and that is why you need this control. Who knows who you will go up against in the Soul Society; if you fail to defeat them, what will happen to your friends_?_'

And Ichigo continued.

* * *

><p>"Well, I believe congratulations are in order, Kurosaki. I was beginning to believe you would never succeed. Let us move onto the next challenge." It had taken Ichigo longer than they had to spare, but at least this would be a valuable skill for his invasion of the Seireitei.<p>

"Now, let us see your abilities with your sealed Zanpakuto." The shop-owner said, jovially, before lunging forward with no further warning; his cane-sword whipping through the air.

Ichigo brought his longest katana, representing Hichigo, up to block the thinner, smaller blade with a frustrated snarl; he could really use a rest.

* * *

><p>"Fireworks festival! Fireworks festival! FIREWORKS FESTIVAAAAL! Isn't this exciting?! We're finally here at the FIREWORKS FESTIVAL!" Keigo exclaimed, as he danced around the crowd of Ichigo's family and friends.<p>

"Wow, you're really enthusiastic." Mizuiro commented.

"Who wouldn't be?! We get to watch things EXPLODE!"

"Hey, don't forget about me!" Isshin Kurosaki interjected with a grin. "I camped out over there all night to get the very best seats!" He pointed at the pavement. A good spot, sure, but Ichigo _really_ doubted that it was worth camping out for. After all, the point of fireworks is that they are visible from a distance, right? And this display was built for people as enthusiastic as Keigo; of course the explosions would be large enough to not require such close seating.

"All right! Let's go!"

"What about you lovely ladies?" Isshin asked Orihime and Tatsuki, with a goofy grin that understandably made the two look a little unnerved. "You wanna join us?"

"Umm, we'll come along later..." Tatsuki replied.

"Suit yourself." The eldest Kurosaki took off at a run, leaving the others, excluding the aforementioned girls, and his son, to take off in pursuit.

"Embarrassing." Ichigo commented. "But I might as well follow them." He turned to face the black haired girl. "Sorry 'bout that, Tatsuki. They're always like that."

"I know, Ichigo. I've met your father before, and I _do_ go to school with Keigo." She replied, slightly amused at their antics and the lack of real reaction coming from Ichigo, who had built up an immunity to their idiocy over the years.

"Well, you don't have to come if you don't want to, y'know. I'm sure you'd enjoy it more without their... antics."

"No, no. We want to come, right Orihime?" She spoke, waving off the suggestion.

"Yep! It sounds fun!" The enthusiastic, though less so than the recently exited group, girl replied happily.

"We'll join you later, Ichigo." The lean girl smiled at her oldest friend, before he responded in kind.

"Okay, I'll see you later then. Congrats again on your tournament Tatsuki." He grinned at the girl, before taking off at a jog after his family, leaving two girls, one obviously happy to see that Ichigo was back out of his funk, and the other rapidly reddening at seeing her long-time crush with such a charming expression, in his wake. While he did see them later on in the day, he left them to their own devices; they had seemed to be discussing something private, and he made an incorrect assumption, based on earlier misconceptions. Ichigo did, however, walk them home; with not so subtle praises coming from his father at being 'SUCH A GENTLEMAN! I RAISED YOU WELL, ICHIGO!', at which the not-quite-human just pretended he had never met the crazy man before in his life.

They had been walking for only a few minutes before Ichigo noticed something strange.

"Umm... Inoue?" Ichigo asked, as he and Tatsuki noticed the very strange fact that Orihime was stood with her eyes closed and her head drooped back. "The hell?"

"I think she's asleep." Tatsuki commented, as she heard the steady and heavy breathing of her friend.

"Uh, right." Ichigo agreed, confusedly. "Does she sleep standing up often?"

"Not that I'm aware of." Tatsuki shrugged. "But I can't say I'd be shocked to find out she did." It would just be another addition to the list of Orihime Inoue's quirks.

"Well... should we wake her up?"

"No, she must be exhausted to have fallen asleep like this." The second strongest girl in Japan commented. "I'm sure that between us we can comfortably support her. If we go to her house first, it shouldn't take more than 5 minutes or so."

"We? Are you forgetting your arm, Tatsuki? I don't think you're in the position to carry anyone." The raven haired girl glare at the offending limb, annoyed with the disability.

"Fine, then you can carry her. It should be easy enough for you, after all." And she was right, Ichigo's strength was obvious by now; the training of the last week only the icing on the cake in regards to the boy's lean muscles.

"Uh, right. If you're sure." It was well known how Tatsuki tended to react to anyone who touched Orihime; one of the causes of Ichigo's confusion regarding the girls in front of him. The orange-haired male easily knocked Orihime's knees out from under her and lifted her smoothly into his arms; in the manner that one would carry a baby, or; as came to Tatsuki's mind, a bride. That was a thought that inexplicably aggravated the girl. The thought of Ichigo and bride in a sentence felt... wrong, somehow.

Moving on silently, so as to avoid waking the sleeping girl, Ichigo and Tatsuki quickly reached Orihime's apartment. Ichigo crept up the stairs to her door, following Tatsuki to the entrance, and addressed the still conscious girl.

"You have a key, right?" He whispered to her.

"Yes, it's just... here." She fumbled with her key ring briefly before finding the correct key. She unlocked the door and walked in with the confidence that came with familiarity, immediately finding the light switch and flicking it on.

'Not surprising that she know her way round Inoue's place though, is it?' Ichigo thought.

"Just put her in here, Ichigo." Tatsuki pointed at one of the doors, evidently Orihime's room, and Ichigo quickly crossed inside, pointedly ignoring the fact that Inoue seemed to have _snuggled_ into him a little. He moved into the room and gently laid the smaller figure onto the comfy-looking bed.

He exited the room immediately, not wanting to risk the wrath of the still conscious girl, and found Tatsuki waiting back next to the light-switch she had turned on when the trio had entered. He frowned a little as he saw her attempt to stifle a yawn, and asked the question he considered to be obvious.

"Tatsuki, why don't you just stay here with Inoue?" The girl looked a little confused. "If it's about me telling anyone, you don't have to worry."

"Because... that would be inconsiderate? I've told my parents that I'd be home, and I don't want to impose on Orihime when my house isn't that far away to walk." She frowned, assuming he simply did not want to walk further out of his way. "But I don't mind if you'd rather head home; I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"No, that's not it." Ichigo reassured his friend. "I just thought it was weird that you two weren't staying together." He shrugged as the two left Orihime's apartment. "I'd have thought you'd want to stay with each other since Inoue's going to see her family, I think. Y'know, get some last time in together before you have to spend some apart."

"So?" Tatsuki asked. "Why would it matter that we're spending some time apart?"

"Um, I was just under the impression that would cause the two of you duress?" He half-asked half-said, not quite knowing how to phrase it. "'Cause you can normally... uh, _see_ each other every day."

"O...kay?" Tatsuki responded, though she was very confused. It seemed like Ichigo was implying something, though she wasn't sure what. "But that's not exactly something that would cause us 'duress', is it?"

"I would have thought so, but I'm not exactly experienced in these matters." Ichigo said, feeling rather awkward with the conversation he was having.

"Not experienced? You have quite a few friends. More than me, at least." They hung out with a largely male group, after all. Maybe he didn't have more people that he considered friends, but Ichigo's odd charisma meant he had far more who considered him to be their friend than she. "I mean; I really doubt you would be particularly upset it you couldn't see Keigo for a few weeks, would you?"

"No, but that _really_ isn't the same thing." Ichigo responded, with a shudder of revulsion at the thought.

"How do you figure that? Of course, me and Orihime are closer than you and Keigo; but there isn't _that_ much difference. You two are still friends."

"Well, yeah... but I'm straight." Ichigo said, rather confused at the comparison. "Not that there's anything wrong with being gay, of course." He added hastily. "It just means that mine and any guy's friendship couldn't be comparable to your two's."

"What do you mean? What does that have to do with..." Tatsuki's eyes widened as she trailed off. "Wait... Ichigo, do you think I'm gay?" She asked, shocked.

"Uh... Yes?" Ichigo responded, confused once more.

"What?! Why would you think that?!"

"...Because you're dating Inoue?" He, again, half asked.

"What?! No I'm not!"

"Really?" Ichigo looked thoughtful for a second. "Huh."

"'Huh'? That's all you have to say?!" She snapped at him.

"What else would I say?"

"How about an apology?"

"Okay. Tatsuki." He turned to face the girl. "I sincerely apologise if I caused you any offence by implying that you are a lesbian. I didn't mean to, and that type of thing would never change my opinion of you, or Orihime." Ichigo said, with an entirely straight face. "Is that good enough?" She nodded absent-mindedly.

"Wait... Is that what you meant by 'you wouldn't tell anyone'? That you thought we were _sleeping_ together?!"

"Well... yes." He cringed at the slight look of horror on her face. "I'm sorry! I just assumed that, since you spent so much time together..." Both participants of the conversation were rapidly turning red at this point. "But, like I said, I would _never_ condemn the two of you for doing something like that, so please don't think I was judging you. I mean it's not like-" He cut himself off. "I mean, I'm not one to- No, uh... You're both... I'm just going to stop talking." Tatsuki looked curiously, with a hint of amusement, up at Ichigo, despite her face still resembling _his_ namesake.

"No, no. Please finish your sentences. What aren't you? What are we? And what is it not like?" The male's face was reddening even more as he mumbled something inaudible. "Pardon?"

"I was going to say that- Oh, look, it's your house. Here we are." He gestured to the home of his oldest friend and picked up his pace.

"Come on Ichigo; tell me what we are." She requested as she matched the new found speed. However, the two quickly arrived at her doorway, and he said goodbye.

"I'll see you soon, Tatsuki. Hope you have a good holiday." He began moving away, before the girl's voice reached his ears again.

"Thanks for walking us home, Ichigo. And thanks for what I'm going to take as a compliment." Tatsuki assumed that he had been implying, from the half sentences, she and Orihime were attractive. Maybe that he could not blame them for giving into that temptation?

"It was my pleasure, g'night Tatsuki." He called back. "And yeah, they were compliments."

The blue eyed girl fell asleep with a smile on her face. A contrast to Ichigo's fate for the night.

* * *

><p>"Yo, Hat 'n' Sandals?" The orange haired, living Shinigami called out as he entered the store; looking for the man that had sent him a message to be here... well, now. "Anyone home?!"<p>

"Ah, Kurosaki-san." A voice spoke from behind him.

"Bah! What the hell?" Kisuke was behind him. "How'd you do that?"

"A magician never reveals his secrets, young Ichigo. Remember that." He smirked at the obviously annoyed Soul-Reaper. "Now, come back out. I think that your friends will be arriving shortly.

"My friends? What do you mean?"

* * *

><p>"A talking cat?! What the hell?! A cat just spoke to me!"<p>

"His name is Yoruichi, and he's not an ordinary cat." Orihime, who the talking cat had gone to fetch, spoke up; cradling the shape shifter in her arms as she spoke.

"It's understandable for him to have trouble with it. A talking cat is certainly strange." Uryuu commented.

"Aye. I'm still having trouble adjusting to it myself." Chad agreed, in a rumbling tone.

"Right, right!" Urahara interrupted the conversation. "Let's take this inside, there are things we can't discuss out here, in the open!" He said, in his slightly childish tone.

He received grunts of agreement from two of the males, while Orihime and Ichigo both lagged back a little. Increased further by the orange-haired male speaking up.

"Inoue," The busty girl turned a little towards Ichigo. "Are you sure about this? It's going to be dangerous." He said, a concerned frown on his face.

"Don't worry Ichigo; Rukia is my friend too, I know what I'm getting into. I gave you my promise, and so I'm going with you." Orihime moved a little towards the shop entrance. "And I... I gave my promise to Tatsuki that I'd come back to her." She darted into the shop.

'**And the Karate-girl was surprised you thought she was a dyke? When Tits goes around sayin' stuff like that?**'

'Don't talk about them like that, Hichigo.' Ichigo responded. 'But I agree with the general message, sans insults. That sounds weird for a _friend_ to say.'

The boy followed after his friends, and quickly crossed the door's threshold.

* * *

><p>"Wooow!" Orihime exclaimed as the group reached the bottom of the ladder; now in the large cavern underneath the 'candy store'. "It's so cooool! So humongous! Awesome!"<p>

"I guess." Ichigo commented, eyeing the busty girl worriedly at the look of awe she held. A look that increased as Tessai began thanking her profusely for the comment.

"Let's get down to business now, Kurosaki and Kurosaki's friends!" Urahara exclaimed, jovially. "Everyone look over here!" The man was stood in front of a large stone square. "This here's a Senkaimon, the entrance to the Soul Society. You need to listen closely as I tell you how to travel through. But first..." The green-dressed man raised his cane, butt pointed at Ichigo, and whacked the human-Shinigami with it, expelling the soul from his body.

"Oi! How about a little warning before you do that?!" Ichigo barked at Kisuke.

"Oh, wow!" Orihime exclaimed, once again amazed. "That was cool! So Ichigo, you're no longer inside this Ichigo anymore?!"

"I'm not a doll with interchangeable outfits, Orihime." Ichigo commented as she continually prodded at the still body.

"Alright, listen up. Unlike normal gates, this one has a spirit-particle conversion machine." At the questioning looks, he elaborated. "Ordinarily, only something in spirit-form can travel through the tunnel; simply because the Soul Society is a spirit world. The conversion machine will turn you three," He pointed his stick at Chad, Orihime and Uryu. "Into spirits as well."

"So you're saying that this gate will allows us to travel into the Soul Society without extracting our souls." Uryu clarified.

"Yes, and it will allow you to stay in your current forms." The group nodded. "But," He spoke again, with a Cheshire cat grin. "There's a catch... the window of time the gate can be kept open for you is only... four minutes long." The man said, pausing twice for dramatic effect. The group gained worried expressions.

"But... is that enough time?" Ichigo asked him.

"Ordinarily? No." The boy sweat dropped. "In fact, the whole scheme's a little shaky, but four minutes with the gate is all I can give you. Afterthat, the gate will close and any who have not made it through will be trapped forever in he Dangai; the precipice world between the Human World and the Soul Society."

"But... how will we make it?" Orihime asked, fearfully.

"Go forward. You must have no doubt, no fear, do not think of those you are leaving behind." The masculine voice of Yoruichi spoke up. "The will to go forward will be your guide. And don't look back. Only those who can do these things can follow me through the gate and survive."

"When do we leave?" Ichigo asked. "I know this. And am not afraid, I'm pretty sure these guys know it too, or they wouldn't be here."

"Do you understand that, if you fail in this endeavour, you will never be able to return to this world?"

"Then all I need to do is win." Ichigo said, calmly, and the cat responded with what seemed to be a smirk.

"Exactly."

* * *

><p>"Are you all ready? Once it opens, you need to go immediately." Urahara was slightly more serious now, but Ichigo, for one was not concentrating. One of the voices had spoken up before Kisuke began speaking; Nejibana's logic was almost annoying; it was <em>difficult<em>, to say the least, to ignore. And he wasn't sure he _wanted_ to ignore it.

'Ichigo... I don't understand what you are doing.' She told her wielder.

'What do you mean, Nejbana?' She had brought this up suddenly, whatever it was she meant.

'Going in to the Soul Society with your friends. I don't believe it will end well.' Ichigo's brow sank into a frown.

'I won't leave Rukia to be executed for helping me, Nejibana. For _saving my sisters_. Whatever you say, you won't be able to convince me to leave her to that fate.'

'I was not trying to, Ichigo.' She said, with a sigh. 'I know that would be a pointless exercise. What I meant, was that you may well be sacrificing one friend for another. Your friends are strong, but if they run into someone like the man that came to get Rukia, what do you think the outcome of that fight would be? I know you, Ichigo. If that happened, the storm would last for too long. You would never forgive yourself.' Ichigo heard Old man Zangetsu voice his agreement.

'_You are strong, Ichigo. You will survive this with our help, but you would not survive the aftermath if you led those three to their deaths._' The spirit confirmed. '_We have plenty long enough to reach the girl; if you trust in yourself, then your friends' presence would make virtually no difference in the battle ahead._' He, along with the others, felt Ichigo prepare to interrupt. '_I know that they will be disgruntled by being left behind, Ichigo, but it is for the best. If you are so worried about their reaction, imagine the reaction of the rest of your friends and your sisters when they found out that you got them killed._' It was a harsh thing to say, but Zangetsu knew that that one statement would secure Ichigo's agreement, and, therefore, his future happiness. It was their job to protect Ichigo from himself, too, after all.

'... okay. Okay, I'll go without them.' This was going to be unpleasant when he returned; the three would not be happy. 'Do you think I should take the cat?' He looked down at Yoruichi.

'_Yes. It seems to know the Soul Society well. Having a guide will, no doubt, be beneficial. It would be a great hindrance to your cause if you could not find Rukia, would it not? Besides, I have a feeling that there is more to the cat than meets the eye. It may be useful to have with us in the Soul Society if it somehow is capable in the ways of fighting. Or, as is more likely, stealth.'_

'Alright then.' Ichigo said, blowing an audible breath out of his mouth in slight frustration at what he was to do next.

As Kisuke Urahara finished his speech prior to sending those in front of him through the portal-gate, his eyebrows raised as he felt the reiatsu of Kurosaki raise minutely and focus on his legs. Why would he need Shunpo? In a muted flash, Ichigo vanished from the spot he had previously been occupying, and the bucket-hatted man's eyes subtly darted around; searching for the boy turned Death God. Imagine his surprise when he found the boy.

Ichigo held a sheath in one hand, and his Wakizashi in the other, as he stood behind his companions. With two quiet thuds, the sheath and the hilt of the sword _bonked_ into the back of Chad and Uryu's head, sending the pair of males to the ground unconscious quickly; not even giving them time to know what had happened to render them unconscious. Next, and with more hesitation than he had given the other two, Ichigo moved to Orihime, and the sheath swung again, whacking Inoue on her head. Ichigo, presumably in an attempt to rectify the situation, caught her before she had even started to fall and lay her softly, and cautiously, on the ground, and then placed a hand against her head; a green glow coming from the palm and a mild healing Kido being cast on the very small lump that was beginning to form on the back of the orange haired girl's head.

"Kurosaki-san? Why did you do that?" Urahara remained cheerful as he asked, though his left hand, which had previously been free for him to gesture extravagantly towards the gate, now joined his right on the cane-sword as a precaution.

"My Zanpakuto made a good point. It's stupid to bring them on this trip. There is a very real possibility that they would perish; and that's something that I want to avoid if at all possible." He frowned at the older man. "Don't worry; them remaining in this world won't hinder the mission. Whatever stakes you hold in her rescue; 'cause I don't believe that you are doing all this for a simple Gigai, you can rest assured that I'll still get Rukia back." Ichigo said, ignoring the insulted gasp that Urahara gave for his slight accusation. "Hey, whatever it is; I don't particularly care. You're helping me rescue my friend, and that's good enough for me."

"Well, I never... accusing me of deceit. I've been nothing but honest with him." Kisuke grumbled. "Fine, fine. I believe the gate is about to open." As he turned to look at the gate, the slight blue light that had been growing from it suddenly pulsed, and became a bright white light. "And off you go!" The shop owner's voice followed Ichigo as he scooped up Yoruichi and ran into the gate. "Goood luuuck!"

**-()-**

**Just like to say; the Tatsuki-Orihime thing did confuse me when I saw it. It seemed... romantic?**


	3. The Gatekeeper

"Yoruichi! What the hell is that?!" Ichigo shouted at the cat sat on his shoulder, as he sprinted down the dark corridor of the Dangai. He could feel _something_ behind him; approaching fast. And _dear God_ was it unsettling.

"It's the cleaner and it does what it says on the tin; once a week it comes through the precipice world to clear out anything that happens to be here." The cat had an annoying habit of remaining _too_ calm, like the blasted shop keeper, though thankfully to a more tolerable extent; as was shown by her next statement.. "If it touches us, we will be lost forever, why does it have to be today?!" Yoruichi hissed in frustration, claws digging into Ichigo's shoulder slightly. "Faster, Ichigo!" Not even bothering to snap back at the feline for ordering him about, Ichigo did what he was told; the world turning to a blur as the orange haired teen, with the black cat perched on his upper back, raced along.

"That's good Ichigo. Keep it up!" The cat encouraged. "I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!" The pair approached the entrance to the soul society as the train-like cleaner lagged behind. "Well done, Ichigoooooo!" The last word was dragged out as the sprinting boy crossed the threshold into the Spirit World. Apparently Urahara had managed to situate the exit to the tunnel several hundred feet up.

"Ugh." Ichigo grunted as he stood back up, having landed awkwardly. "Bastard Hat 'n' Sandals. What a Dick; could've at least spent a couple of extra minutes to give us a decent exit, I bet he just got distracted by a shiny object they thought was a coin like the stingy bastard he is. Oi, Yoruichi," He turned, looking for the cat, and found it gingerly sitting, licking at one of its front paws. "You alright?" It ignored him, barely sparing the Shinigami-garbed boy a glance before going back to the job at hand. "Okay, then. Remind me to kick his ass when we get back, will ya?"

"My sentiments exactly, Ichigo. I will make sure to assist you, in fact, once we return, but let us get going before our entrance attracts attention from the wrong sorts."

"You mean Shinigami, I'm guessing." What else would give them trouble? But he felt the need to check that was the case, nonetheless.

"Hai. Come, let's get going." Yoruichi hopped onto the awaiting shoulder of her taxi. "This way." The feline pointed its tail off into the distance, towards a clump of trees, located behind a Rukongai village.

"Right. You on safely?"

"Yes. Let's get going, Ichigo; the longer we're here, the greater the risk becomes." The orange haired boy nodded, and vanished from sight in a slight flash of light.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Yoruichi," Ichigo asked, as they wandered even deeper into the trees. "Where are we going, exactly?"<p>

"Hmm?" The cat replied, having been sleeping; taking the nap of its kind. "Oh, we're heading to a small town. It's not too far, but it's ideal for what we want to do next."

"What we want to do?" Ichigo replied with a slight frown of confusion.

"Get into the Seretei, of course." Yoruichi answered with a tone that suggested it really should be obvious to him.

"'Seretei'?" Again, Ichigo asked. "What the Hell is 'the Seretei'?!"

"You mean you don't know?!"

"Why would I ask if I knew?!" Ichigo snapped.

"_Ten days_ and Kisuke did not see fit to take a few minutes to explain the structure of the place you would be invading?!" The cat exclaimed, irritated. "Fine then," Her tail pointed of to the side. "I will tell you the information you need over in that clearing."

"What clearing?" Ichigo had turned to walk over to the aforementioned area, but could not see even a gap in the trees.

"Just trust me; I know these woods well. It's one of the many places I used to train..."

* * *

><p>"... Thank you for telling me this, Yoruichi." Ichigo said, only a slight waver in his tone from the shock of his recent lecture. "So the summary is that we are going to one of those... gates? Right?"<p>

"Yes. That is right."

"And... the white road gate? You sounded like you were more willing to face off against Jidanbo than the others."

"Huh?" Yoruichi looked surprised. "I did not expect you to pick up on that, Ichigo." The cat commented. "You are more perceptive than I thought. Yes, I would rather fight Jidanbo than any of the others. I believe that he will be more willing to let us in without the necessity of killing him. The others, I firmly believe, would not accept defeat as a reason to let us pass, but Jidanbo thinks that that s required for his honour as a gatekeeper. Killing one of their most prophilic soldiers would draw undue attention onto us, and we do not need it so soon; even if it is just about inevitable for you to be found out and pursued eventually."

"So how long will it take for us to reach the West gate, then?"

"Hmm. If we leave now, we aught to reach the gate before nightfall. Assuming we adopt a brisk pace, that is."

"_We_? Does that mean you will be walking this time?" Ichigo replied, with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course not." Yoruichi snorted. "I am injured from Urahara's idiocy; it would be a social fo pah, at best, for you to let me walk myself. Now, up you get, Ichigo! We have a lot of ground to cover today." The cat whacked him with its tail. But Ichigo noticed its look. He didn't understand it, of course, but he certainly noticed it.

"Fine." He pushed himself to his feet, before leaning his shoulder down slightly to give Yoruichi better access. "Get on then."

"With pleasure." The cat winked at him.

'Weird. I wonder what that was about.'

* * *

><p>"Ah. We're nearing the gate, Ichigo." Yoruichi said, from its position curled around Ichgo's neck. "You should slow down." The boy stopped flash stepping along the path and slowed to a brisk jog.<p>

"Okay, and where will the gate come down?" Ichigo wondered aloud to the cat.

"Just past this town. This is district 1, so there should be no trouble as we pass through."

"Alright. Are you going to get down, or are cat-scarves the trend for Soul Reapers?"

"They aren't usually, no. But Jidanbo will know you have no authorisation to pass through. If you don't fight and defeat him; he will contact a high ranking officer to investigate. That will lead to exposure. Basically, it means that we're better of fighting the giant."

"Right." Ichigo's attention was wrenched away from their conversation as he spotted a sight to behold in the distance. "Hey, Yoruichi," He pointed to the much more classy area of the Soul Society. "Is that the Seretei?"

"Hai. That's the place." Ichigo could hear a smirk in his companion's tone. "And you best get ready for a fight. Right about... _now_." The two were approaching the cleaner, more polished stone, when the cat said this. Giving Ichigo just enough time to leap back before a massive chunk of blue-silver stone, forming what appeared to be a wall, slammed down no more than a foot in front of his previous position. It sent a billowing cloud of dust into the air in front of Ichigo and Yoruichi; who decided this was the perfect time to vacate her position on Ichigo's neck. Coughing slightly, from the dry, irritating dust, Ichigo quietened as he heard a booming voice proclaim.

"Well, it has been a long time since someone tried to breach the Seireitei Gate without a travel permit. You're a rare guest. Welcome, kid!" He smirked condescendingly at the boy in front of him. "Or do you prefer dandelion head?" Had Yoruichi have been noticed by the man, he may have observed a hint of amusement in the feline's expression. While the Human world resident was aware that Jidanbo was a strong opponent; potentially giving a couple of Liuetenants a run for their money, she had seen Ichigo fighting Kisuke when he was training. And had noticed... _something_ about him, and the way he had been acting, that told Yoruichi _this_ Ichigo was not the same as the one she had seen several times in the years prior, when Urahara sent her to check on Isshin and his kids. Him and his Zanpakuto... they had a very strange closeness. Yoruichi knew, like just about every other soul reaper, that those who wanted to master the arts of their blades had to utilise the greatest teacher available; the Zanpakuto spirits themselves. And those taught by such amazing mentors were never slouches in _any_ of their abilities. The feline could count on its paws the number of people _rumoured_ to have trained in their inner world. And that number included some seriously strong people.

And yet... none were as _unique_ as the boy... no, that wasn't right. At this point; the carrot top teen in front of her no longer even looked the way he had when they set out, a phenomenon she guessed to be the work of all that time in his inner world; where time moves far more slowly. That, and the look on his face; the look of a _warrior_, told her that term did not fit Ichigo Kurosaki. None were as unique as the _man_ in front of her.

To paraphrase her old friend; Ichigo was one scary bastard.

And Jidanbo just called him a dandelion.

Meanwhile, the man in question was having an internal debate.

'**If you ain't gonna kill 'im, at **_**least**_** hit 'im with a Cero! Where's your sense of fun?!**' His inner Hollow whined.

'Look. I'm sure I'll be using your blade soon enough. There are some tough opponents in there; and you'll be very effective in the fights that need me to do some real damage to them. But _this guy_? You expect me to go all out on him?! Why?'

'_**Because... **_**Because... Oh, fine! It's 'cus I'm bored! B-O-R-D Bored!**'

'That isn't how you spell Bored.'

'**Oh, shut up Nejibana! C'mon Kiiing! Let me kill somethin'! I don't give a shit if he's 'worthy of your blade'; as the grumpy Bastard is so fond of telling you. I just want some blood!'**

'_Ichigo._' Old man Zangetsu spoke up. '_To be clear; I only believe that that is the case for our releases. As much as I like to see Hichigo disappointed, none of us want you to risk your safety for the sake of 'preserving our honour'. Especially not through an unwillingness to release use your sword. I do not believe that it is right for you to use your Shikai, or Bankai once you achieve it, against weaklings simply because that is a hindrance to _you_. Not only does it take energy; it will make it far more well known what those 'trump cards' someone finds a weakness you could get hurt. it is our duty to do everything we can to _ensure_ your safety; whether or not Hichigo shows it._'

'Right. So, is it agreed that won't use any of your releases against someone like this?'

An affirmative sound.

'Of course, Ichigo-sama.'

'_I agree Ichigo._'

'**... Oh, fine! But at least get in some fights with these 'higher calibre opponents' soon!**'

'I'm sure we will, Hichigo.' Ichigo reassured the sadistic spirit. 'Just think of it; hundreds of Soul Reapers waiting on the other side of that gat, just waiting for us to fight them.' He appeased the Hollow.

'**... Well then, what are we waitin' for?! Let's get through this guy and move onto those fuckwads!**'

'There now. That's the spirit.' Ichigo turned his attention back to the giant ahead of him. He was still rambling, but at least now he had shown an interest in actually fighting and not just giving the indifferent figure of Ichigo a lecture; he now had an axe resting in his hand, and was looking down on Ichigo. Both literally and metaphorically.

"...As you are a lowly country bumpkin; I will do you a favour, and give you a free lesson on manners in these parts. I wouldn't want you dishonouring my town through your pathetic manners, after all.

"First; when you return from outside, wash your hands." Jidanbo said, stern expression and all.

"Second; don't eat food that's fallen on the floor."

'**Well, it's settled, then, he's a dumbass. Why would we need to be **_**told**_** that?!**'

'And third; when you are in a fight... it is one on one."

'I wonder if he's just used to multiple people trying to get through the gate and felt the need to say it out habit. Why else would he tell me ths shit?' Ichigo commented silently.

"Luckily, since you are the only one here, Kid, we don't have to worry about that last rule." Jidanbo continued, only to notice his opponent' apparent lack of interest. "Oi! When someone s talking to you," The large man raised his one handed axe. "You LISTEN!" H brought the massive axe down in a hammer blow; right on top of the spot Ichigo was occupying... or had been, as t turned out.

"Oi, oi! Watch what you're doing, big man. That could'a killed me!" Ichigo was stood a foot to the side, scowling at the axe, now embedded in the stone floor.

'What the?!..." Jidanbo frowned, confused, at his axe. He obviously didn't understand how he had missed. "Oh, I get it! It must've been one of those... one of those... gusts of wind! Yep, a gust of wind must have blown my axe of course! You're a lucky kid! You have time to give a quick prayer to Kami." A giant smirk appeared on the to-scale face.

"Isn't it bad manners to attack before your opponent is ready, Gatekeeper? Or are you a country bumpkin too?"

"Well, you are a lucky one, Kid. It's been decades since someone's survived my first strike; even if this was only due to your good luck. But, be warned! Nobody has ever survived my second!" The giant man lifted his axe again. "Jippon Jidanda Matsuri!" The axe swung again. "One!" And again. "Two!" Dust billowed to even Jidanbo's chest level. "Three! Four! Five!" The vertical chops gave loud _Bangs _and _Crunches_ as t smashed into the floor over and over again. "Six! Eight! Seven! Six! Four! Nine! Seven! Eight!"

'Should I let him know he's past 10 already?' Ichigo wondered, before dismissing it with a thought of 'Eh, I'm sure he'll figure it out eventually.'

"Hah! As I said," Jidanbo began as the dust settled, after he had stopped swinging the axe wildly. "There isn't even any remains of the Kid left." The giant smirked at the empty ground; not noting the fact that there was no gore to go along with Ichigo supposedly being obliterated.

"Ahem." A voice from behind Jidanbo coughed.

"Hmm?" The Gatekeeper turned to find the source of that mysterious noise. "What the?! How'd you survive, candy-head?!"

"Survive? I survived by not being hit by an attack that would be too weak to hurt me anyway. If that was your best; you aught to give up now."

"My best?" Jidanbo snorted. "You haven't seen anything yet!" The man reached into his Kimono and drew a second axe, identical to the first. "Prepare yourself for... Banzai Jidando Matsuri!" He raised his blades. "Rahh!" He brought the two gargantuan axes down in a blur, and Ichigo yawned pointedly.

"Sorry, bud. But I don't have the time, and definitely not the patience, to let you keep tryin' to hit me. I'll make sure to leave one of your weapons intact though; so don't worry."

The orange haired non-Shinigami darted forward, briefly vanishing from his gigantic opponent's view. When he reappeared, two of his blades; the longest Katana and the Wakizashi, were drawn, and he himself was in mid air. The swords, both over Ichio's head, descended with startling speed; and Ichigo smirked. The giant barely even saw it coming, before the axe shattered into a thousand shards as it gave way under a pair of Zanpakuto. Once again, Ichigo vanished from sight in a flash of light.

"Eep!" He felt the cold touch of steel, suddenly, against his throat.

"You done?" The cold face of Ichigo Kurosaki, stood in mid air, asked his so-called-opponent. The massive head nodded. "Good. Drop your other axe." The behemoth of a weapon dropped to the ground with an echoing _thud_, and the orange haired man descended to the floor below. "Okay, now will you please open the gate?"

"Y-You're not going to kill me? Really?"

"Of course not. Why would take your life? You're just doing your job. And as a Gatekeper, I'm sure you'll let me in now."

"Y-Yes! Yes, that is what is required for me. By my honour as a Gatekeeper I will open the gate for you!" The big man teared up, but turned away in time to compose himself. "Stand back, my friend!" He squatted down next to the metal-lined segment of the wall; signalling that that was the entrance. While he was straining, huffing and puffing, Ichigo quickly flash stepped over to the observing feline.

"Well done, Kurosaki-san." Yoruichi's masculine voice commented. "But do not grow complacent; Jidanbo was just the first of many opponents you will be required to face before this journey is done."

"Of course, Yoruichi. Thankfully, however, I won't need them conscious at the end of our fight to open a big ass gate, will I?"

"I suppose not." The cat smirked at Ichigo. It was good for him to take that approach if he wanted to win this.

* * *

><p>"That was fortunate for us, Ichigo. Had it been earlier in the day, we may well have run into a few patrols or, God forbid, a captain of the court guard squads." The two were now in a sde alley off from the main road. "Now, Ichgio, sit down. We both need to get some sleep to be prepared for the morning and any combat it may bring."<p>

"Right. I _could_ use some sleep." Ichigo admitted, just as another yawn threatened to expel from him. And for that reason, Ichigo sumped against the wall and dropped to the ground. "So. what are we going to do tomor-oomph." The black cat hopped onto his lap, surprising Ichigo briefly before he shrugged. That behaviour was commonplace for cats, after all. "What are we going to do tomorrow?" Ichigo continued.

"We'll be making our way, indirectly, East. That is probably where Rukia is being kept. However, we'll have to find someone to confirm that for us, lest we waste too much time on the trip. amd lose the opportunity to do what we need to." The cat, having been facing the opposite wall, turned to face Ichigo. "Tell me; how far are you from Bankai?" The cat would have raised an eyebrow, if cats had eyebrows to raise, that is.

"On which blade?" Ichigo replied. "They have different criterea, after all."

"Let's say Zangetsu." Yoruichi shrugged.

"They're the furthest. I have to fight them both to a standstill out in the real world; so that they can test my true strength against theirs'. Something about the fact that we fight differently in my inner world."

"Is that so?" The cat frowned. "Not surprising; the 'Getsus' are combt type. They _would_ want you to prove yourself properly in combat." Ichigo nodded in response. "Well, what about your others. Nejibana?" She had heard from Urahara some theorys about how Ichigo possessed the Zanpakuto of a long-since deceased Shinigami. The most promising was that of him being a reincarnated form of Kaien Shiba, and the previously though impossibly short time between Kaien's death and Ichigo's birth. Nejibana had simply stayed attached to the soul; and so was still a part of Ichigo.

"Hang on... I'll need to ask Nejibana herself, she's never been all too clear about that."

'Nejibana?'

'Hai, Ichigo-sama?'

'Firstly, please stop calling me that.' He had asked countless times, but he was uncomfortable with the honorific. 'And may I ask how I am to achieve your Bankai?' An odd sensation came over Ichigo. It was coming from the female spirit, but wasn't one of the ones that he had felt from her, or any of the others, before.

'If you come in here, and visit, I guess I can tell you.' She sounded... shy.

'... Okay. Thank you; I'll visit tonight. Does it have to be Jinzen, or can I just visit in my sleep?'

'Sleep is fine, Ichigo.'

'See you soon then, Nejibana.' He said to the Zanpakuto, kindly, before speaking out loud once more.

"Nejibana says I need to visit, then she will tell me how to get her Bankai."

"Then you will do that when we are done here." Yoruichi stated, leaving no room to argue. "Tell me; what about your last Zanpakuto? What was its name again?"

An annoyed growl resounded inside Ichigo's head. Why did she remember the other two? Stupid She-Cat.

"His name is Tabigarasu, Yoruichi..."

"Okay, and what about my other question?" The orange haired human-turned-Shinigami gulped nervously. "Ichigo? How are you in progressing to your Bankai with him?"

"I'm... I've already got his Bankai, Yoruichi."

"What?!"

* * *

><p>"<em>Ichigo, you are aware that the cat will not stop asking what your final release is with Tabigarasu until you tell her, or show her that of another, don't you?<em>"

"Yeah, I know that Old man. But you know why I can't tell her that. I'll just have to put up with it, won't I?"

"_Yes. I suppose you will. What I was trying to say, however, that you should work towards achieving our, and Nejibana's, Bankai._" The cloak-wearing man turned his head to face something Ichigo could not identify. "_On that note; I do believe that Nejibana is heading this way. Goodbye, for now, Ichigo._"

-(Flashback: ? Years ago)-

"Kaien?! Kaien, can you hear me?!" The panicked, no longer meloduos, tone of Nejibana screeched. "Kaien! Please resist! PLEASE!"

Kaien's sight was black. That... _thing_ had gotten him. H-He couldn't die. He couldn't!

Worse was to come...

He was changing. Becoming one of _them_! She would be forced to endure it alongside him. Nejibana would deteriorate right alongside her wielder. It would have been better for them to die. Kaien... as a Shinigami; he would be reborn. As a Hollow, he might be truly destroyed.

Tears began to flow.

"Please... don't turn Kaien. Please, just _survive_."

Then came Rukia Kuchiki. Nejibana would _never_ forget that girl, and what she did for her wielder. 'Not that I'll be able to see forever.' The spirit thought, with a small, depressed smile. The sword pierced them, and Nejibana fell into the darkness.

-(Flashback End)-

Then, though, when all hope had faded, along came her Ichigo. The water Zanpakuto, along with Tabigarasu, was called to the desparing soul of an 8 year old human boy. She would always be thankful for _that._ For being born, again, into such an honourable mind. Turning from a sweet child, who hid his pain behind the mask of a scowl, into an amazing young man. And she liked to think that she had helped a lot in that regard. Who knows how Ichigo would have turned out otherwise... Waking up under his mother's copse. The person he cared for far and away more than any other, at least at that point.

His _determination_ to protect after that... it really helped her, too. She swore to help him, became the only person he ever seemed to be _honest_ with. Who he showed anything except _anger_ to. And in return, she...

"Nejibana!" Ichigo called, waving his hand in front of the female spirit's face to get her attention. "You alright? You zoned out for a while there." The water-Zanpakuto reddened notieably; even to Ichigo.

"H-Hai. I'm fine, Ichigo-sama." The beautiful, Kimono wearing Zanpakuto said, as she blushed to the roots of her dark blue, wavy hair. "W-Why are you here?" She stammered. The orange haired man frowned in confusion. Had she forgotten?

"Because you told me to come here tonight... remember?" Ichigo asked. "Are you sure you're okay, Nejibana? You normally have a really good memory."

"Ah! Of course. Yes, I'm fine, Ichigo. I just spaced out a little, please accept my apologies. D-Did you say that you wanted to discuss your Bankai?" Her breath came in quick, quiet gasps at this point.

"Yes, that's right." Ichigo grinned at the occupant of his soul, only to sink back into the frown as She began to look even _more_ feverish. "If something is the matter, please tell me Nejiba-mpff!"

'Holy...'

The Znpakuto's lips crashed against his in a hasty, and slightly rough, kiss.

'Wow... She never did _this_ when I was Kaien.' His memories from his previous life were few and far between, but that was because he remembered shocking, or significant, events. His Soul Slayer kissing him... that would have been one of them.

"Mmm" The elegant woman moaned, as Ichigo responded in a... positive manner, and she sank into the feeling of _bliss_ that brought her. She ran her tongue over his lips, begging for entrance, and...

"**Whoa! You go King!**"

And Ichigo pulled away, turning to face the, now guffawing and hooting, Hollow. Nejibana's gaze locked onto the grinning 'man' too, and her expression twisted into one of anger.

"Bastard!" A trident soared towards Hichigo, passing through the space that, had he not ducked, would have contained his head.

"**Uh-oh.**" He took off running; not even making a quip in the face of the female spirit's anger. Nejibana ran off in pursuit, and Ichigo was left, standing on his own, in a daze in their wake.

"What the hell just happened..."


	4. The Moon in the Daytime

**Well, here's another instalment of Savage.**

**Hope you enjoy it. **

**I own nothing you recognise.**

* * *

><p>"Well, well, well. Look what we have here, Yumichika." Was the first thing Ichigo Kurosaki heard the next morning. "A Greenhorn Shinigami fallin' asleep this close to our patol grounds. I reckon we aught to teach him why he should avoid the 11th Division's Barracks. And by <em>we,<em> I mean _me_." Ichigo' world came into focus as a male's shadow blocked out the sun.

"What the hell? I could've sworn it was day time. Why's the moon still out?" He heard someone let out an effeminate chuckle that could, very easily, be mistaken for a giggle.

"THAT'S MY HEAD YOU BASTARD!" A, now extremely annoyed, Shinigami known as Ikkaku Madarame yelled at the groggy, orange haired stranger in front of him. "Now; GET UP AND FIGHT ME! It's bad enough that my fellow 11th Divisioners take the piss out of me 'bout my shaved head" "*Cough*Bald*Cough*" "Shut up Yumchika! But I won't let some pathetic, newby weakling get away with it!"

"Fine. fine. If you ain't gonna shut up until we fight; let's get on with it." Ichigo stood, dusting off his robes, and stretched, popping the muscles in his back a little as he did so. The habit of very much _enjoying_ sleep came with his memories from being Kaien, too. He'd always tried to find time, in the afternoon especially, for a good nap back when he was in Thirteenth Division. "I assume it'll be one on one, right?" The growling bald man nodded, and then something ocurred to Ichigo. "Hey, have either of you seen a cat 'round here? Seems to have vanished." He pointedly looked around for Yoruichi; but found no trace of the feline.

'Hmm... Well, I'm sure Yoruichi can manage while I deal with these clowns.'

"So, what are the rules in this bout?"

"Rules?" Ikkaku scoffed. "No rules. Just that here's no running." The bald man grinned. "Only cowards run, right?... Hey, what is your name? I'm Ikkaku Madarame, third seat of eleventh division; and I reckon it's only polite to give your name to someone you're gonna try 'n' kill."

"Ichigo Kurosaki. Nice to meet you. But I'll be hesitant to fight you with the peacock guy stood over there. Who knows what he'll do if I'm beating you."

"Eh? Oh, Yumichika won't do anythin'. But I see your point. Oi, Yumichika, go let the Captain know why I'm gonna be late for my station."

"Very well, Ikkaku. Have fun." The man half-ran half-skipped off towards the main road.

"Now, I just need a moment, Kurosaki." The third seat backed off, and stood in the centre of the small street. "You are about to witness... my lucky dance!"

* * *

><p>'What a freak.' Ichigo thought, as the bald man finished his... dance-thing.<p>

"We gonna start, then, Ikkaku? Or do you have a poem you want to recite, too?"

"Fuck off! I have to do my lucky dance, not to do so would be unlucky!"

"Really? I never would have guessed that the _lucky_ dance was supposed to give you luck."

"Fuck you, Kurosaki! Prepare yourself, 'cus now you've made me MAD!" The Eleventh Division member roared as he lunged at his opponent, unsheathing Hozukimaru mid-leap. He swung visciously at his opponent's neck, and let out another growl. This wouldn't be a satisfying fight. The Greenhorn in front of him hadn't even drawn his Zanpakuto. He'd die from a single- What the? Where'd he go?

Ichigo had vanished from Ikkaku's line of sight, and the fight-loving Shinigami's path was now empty of the obstacle he had been expecting to encounter; something that very much threw him off balance.

"I think you missed." The Orange haired fighter commented as his opponent recovered from his stumble. Ikkaku spun on his heel, and faced the stranger.

"Who the fuck are you?!" He demanded of Ichigo. No way was this guy unranked; an unranked member wouldn't be able to avoid his strike. None of 'em had good enough reflexes for that. And if he had been ranked; Ikkaku's lieutenant would have insisted that he move to her division. because his hair was 'the colour of candy'. Yachiru would not miss out on having such a member in her division. And Kenpachi wouldn't much care either way; so long as Ichigo amused Yachru and was willing to fight.

"I told you; Ichigo Kurosaki." Ichigo replied, honestly, as he drew Hichigo-Zangetsu; the abnormally long Katana's steel blade glinting in the morning light.

"Then _what_ are you?! You ain't a Soul Reaper, that's for damn sure!" Ikkaku exclaimed, with a grin; he had a feeling that this'd be a better fight than he'd expected.

"Sorry, I've been told not to say too much, or it could backfire." Ichigo shrugged. "Shall we get back to the fight?"

"Yes. Let's!" He lunged again, swinging the empty sheath at Ichigo's skull and his katana at the longer blade. No way this Kurosaki guy could block both; he would block the blade, and then be knocked groggy as Hozukimaru's sheath whacked him over the head. Well; that's what the bald-headed third seat believed and expected. But that was based on one incorrect assumption.

That Ichigo intended to block.

"Sorry 'bout this. If I don't give him some blood soon; Zangetsu'll be even more irritating than normal." The orange haired hybrid announced, as Ikkaku neared. He raised his blade, pointed at Ikkaku and parrallel to the ground, and stepped forward. "And, who knows, maybe this'll teach you not to mindlessley jump at your opponent, when you know nothing about him." Ichigo commented, before dissappearing in a blur of flash step.

"Ugh!" The bloodthirsty Chrome dome, as Yachiru would call him, grunted as Zangetsu's tip pierced his right shoulder, stabbing through to the hilt, and his weapon's sheath fell to the floor with a clatter as his hand spasmed. "Shit! Fuck, you're fast, Kurosaki!" A bloodthirsty grin spread over the third seat's face. "But you chose the wrong arm!" Hozukimaru flashed, hacking shortly at his opponent's right arm; the one holding his, now blood drenched, Zanpakuto. "Gah!" The longer sword was yanked harshly out of his shoulder, far faster than the stabbed man had expected. His own katana bounced off the sword, as the pain shifted Ikkaku's focus, and Madarame stumbled backwards.

The bald man growled as he noticed, to add insult to injury, that his opponent had relaxed his stance. Raising the hilt to his mouth; the eleventh squad member gripped it in his teeth; his vision beginning to dim from the gushing wound on his shoulder, and fumbled with the hilt's pommel until he plucked it off and gained access to his blood clotting ointment. It wouldn't be enough for long-term healing, but hopefully the paste would stop the bleeding for the rest of this fight, at least.

"Well that's just cheating."

"Shut up! It's not cheating; it's called being well-prepared! You're supposed to marval at my brilliance!" He screamed at the other man; frustrated with the accusation.

"Eh. If you say so." Ichigo replied; indifferently. "You done? Or are we going to continue?"

"Done... DONE?! I won't be done 'TIL I'M DEAD!" He charged forwards yet again, wobbling a little as he rushed blindly at his, so far, superior opponent.

"Or..." Ichigo began, before dissappearing in a blur of speed.

"Bugh." Ikkaku made a strange sound, as a fist crashed into the back of his head, and fell, face first, to the ground; a lump rapidly forming on the point of impact.

"... Until you're unconscious." He nudged the out-of-it man with his foot and received a groan in response. "Hmm... not knocked out, huh? I guess a third seat is more resilient than I expected." He shrugged. "Eh. That's probably a good thing." The orange haired man grabbed his opponent by the back of his Kimono, and moved him away from Hozukimaru.

"Oi! Wake up!" Ichigo barked at Ikkaku.

Nothing.

"Dumbass, get up!"

Nada.

"Oh... that'll work." Ichigo smirked to himself, and drew in a breath. "BALDY!"

"FUCK YOU!" Ikkaku sat up with that exclamation, a look of rage on his face. "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU... are? Crap!" Seeming to rememebr where he was. the Third seat leapt to his feet, only to stagger and fall back down. "What the? Why am I dizzy?"

"'Cause I punched you in the back of your head, I'd guess." Ichigo told him. "Now, I've got some questions I need to ask you."

"Why would I answer them?" The bald man hissed. "And why didn't you finish me off?"

"I had no reason to, Third seat Madarame. You were fighting me for the sake of fighting. That's something I don't mind; even though wanting it to be to the death is annoying. Your reason is one I can understand, and so I can accept it. So long as you don't select one of those I care for to sate your bloodlust." Ichigo stated, leaning against a wall as Ikkaku rose, unsteadily, to his feet.

"What do you want to know, then?" Ikkaku sneered. "My Birthday?" Ichigo ignored his tone.

"I want to know where Rukia Kuchiki is being kept." The Ryoka, though he did not know that title yet, answered simply.

"Kuchiki? You mean the Death Row inmate?" His sneer fell away, replaced with a look of confusion. "What do you want with someone like that?"

"To save her."

"_Save_ her?! How many of you are there?"

"Myself... and a cat."

"You... and a _cat_... Hah! Bahaha! You're kidding; what is this, a suicide mission?!" He used the fact that Ichigo turned from him, to avoid looking at, and so getting angered by, the ridiculing expression to make a run for his weapons, scooping the sheath and sword duo off the ground and spinning; intending to block an incoming strike. Only to find none incoming. His confusion quickly gave way to a grin, however, as Ikkaku slammed the pommel of his sword against the butt of his sheath. His enemy would not be expecting this.

"_Grow, Hozukimaru!_" The blade and sheath combined, extending into a long spaer with a red tassle on the blunt end. "Now, Ichigo, don't misju-UGH!" The Yari snapped, and Ichigo appeared, in front of the shocked Ikkaku, with Zangetsu still extended, tip dripping blood from the verticle slash running down the Third seat of Zaraki devision's chest.

When Ikkaku woke, he found his Zanpakuto, complete with sheath, resting next to him; the only change being the now mostly empty pommel.

"... Bastard."

* * *

><p>"Damn... I've got to stop doing that." Ichigo commented to himself, with a scowl. He had attemted to do a long-distance Shunpo, and ended up... somewhere he hadn't intended to be. Still in the Seretei, of course, but he had no idea <em>where<em> in the large compound.

'**Eh. Practise makes perfect, right King? Eventually we'll get it down. If not, you could always use Sonido...**' The Hollow suggested; in his version of subtlety, which was, basically, not yelling.

'_There is no need to worry about this, Ichigo._' The calmer Zangetsu added. '_I am given to understand that this is a hard skill to learn; and you have never had anything like formal training on it. Perhaps you will be able to find someone once this is done._'

'**Plus, I bet it makes ya harder to follow, Kingy. After all, if you don't know where you're goin', how could your enemies?**' The Hollow added, finding a possible silver lining.

Ichigo was now stood on a building. So that was a start...

'**Great job, King. You've narrowed it down to one of the gazillion buildings in this place. Really, I **_**applaude**_** your brilliance.**' Ichigo's eyes narrowed.

'Hey, Old Man?'

'_Yes, Ichigo?_'

'Did Nejibana ever get ahold of Hichigo?'

'_No..._' Ichigo got the distinct impression that Zangetsu was smirking; evidently he knew what was to happen next.

'**Y-You wouldn't...**'

'Hey, Flower!' Ichigo called into his own mind. 'He's over here!' After which silence, other than a few yelps and squeaks of pain, was all that Ichigo heard from his mindscape. The orange haired Shinigami chuckled, before his head snapped around.

He could have sworn he'd heard a booming voice announce something from a half mile, or so, to his left.

What was a Ryoka? Ichigo couldn't help but wonder, since the word inspired such an uneasy feeling in him.

* * *

><p>Ichigo was willing to admit that he was lost. Not out loud, granted, but in the confines of his own head he was comfortable admitting his current predicament. Hell, he may even accept that the responsibility for the situation rested on his shoulders. But that did not change the fact that he was getting very anoyed right now.<p>

With each building, the hybrid's frustration grew. It was dumb; to expect to just run into another ranked Soul Reaper to question; since he did not get the information he needed from Ikkaku, but, even so, Ichigo kept at it. He figured that, _eventually_, he would find somebody that knew where in this thrice damned place they were holding Rukia, they would tell him where, and he would finally know where he was meant to be heading. If only the blasted cat had told him that, or _anything_, before scampering off to do God knows what.

Suddenly, his sharp ears, even when he was doing his best to surpress his reiatsu in an inneffective way that cut off the majority of his abilities, caught a _Boom_ in the distance, somewhere to the East, or at least he believed that direction to be East, anyway, of Ichigo's position. Just stopping himself from trying to Shunpo over, that was the cause of his being lost, after all, Ichigo took off at a bounding run, leaping from building to building as he neared the source of that noise. As he reached the nearest building and peered over the edge, he saw...

A hole in a wall. That was it.

"Oh! Come on!" The sleeveless-Shihakusho wearing Human exclaimed. How had he missed whoever caused that damage? He had been _quick_, for Kami's sake!

Suddenly, Ichigo darted to the side, moving in a blur of speed that, as he became visible again, showed him holding his Wakizashi; Old man Zangetsu's blade form. Where he had previously been stood, an _odd s_ight was now visible.

From a cloud of dust; an big. ugly head, surrounded by large red beads, portruded.

"Huh? Where'd he go?" The oversized Soul Reaper, now free from the dust, wondered aloud, before turning to look for the orange haired Ryoka. Now, Ichigo could see the behemoth in greater detail. He bore a certain resemblance to Jidanbo; the guardian of the West gate, and wore a large, beaded necklace with a red tuft hanging from the lowest, and largest of them. Likewise; he had a bracelet consisting of red beads on his left wrist, drawing Ichigo's attention to the fact that he held a Zanpakuto in a ready, but slightly sloppy, grip.

"So you were fast enough to dodge my strike from such a close range? Impressive. I dare say that if we had not met here, you may have gone on to do great things... Unfortunately for you, however, your journey ends here." The ugly man stated, confidently. "It is almost sad. And, so, I will give you some time to make peace with yourself, before I kill you. You have ten seconds."

"One."

'**Is this guy serious?**' The Hollow deadpanned.

"Two."

'...'

"Three."

'It looks like it, yeah.'

"Four."

'**Well, even **_**I**_** agree _he_ doesn't deserve one of your releases.**'

"Five."

'I don't even want to dirty a Zanpakuto by using it against him.'

"Six."

'**I **_**would**_** quite like to see you punch him in the face, King.**'

"Seven."

'And I would quite like _to_ punch him in the face.'

"Eight."

"Nine."

"Ten." He drew his sword back, and crouched slightly. "Now that you are prepared; I will show you the way in which you will die." He leapt forwards with a yell that sounded like "Eeeeyuuh!", and, surprisingly; considering his bulk, sailed through the air towards Ichigo. This, however, did not mean he did it quickly. Ichigo stepped to the side, as Jirobo landed, and sheathed Zangetsu.

"Again, your speed impresses me, but no matter." The man jumped back again, and landed 25 feet from his opponent. "Now, I will end your regrettable misfortune. It will be a merciful death; do not worry." He placed his hand against the tip of his Zanpakuto.

"_Flap away, Tsunzakigarasu!_" The blade gave way under his palm, and dozens of curved, spinning blades appeared around him; floating in mid air. "You see, Ryoka, I am the _master_ of flying weapons! You have no hope to live past that which is too fast for your eyes to see!" The large man flung his hand forwards, fingers splayed.

'**Pfft. You think that's fast, fatso?! My pett snail moves faster than that!**' The Hollow was genuinly upset at the implication of such a pathetic man calling himself fast. '**If you wanna see fast; you should see my Bankai!**' From the brief demonstrations Ichigo had seen, comparing this to Zangetsu's Bankai form would be like comparing a space hopper to a Formula 1 car. Though projectiles _were_ likely quite useful even at this speed.

Ichigo vaished from his opponent's line of sight, and the man let out a confused grunt. None of his blades had any blood on them. Did the orange haired man not bleed? Strange. Jirobo, then, felt something tap his shoulder, and spun around, only to be met with Ichigo Kurosaki's knuckles as his fist slammed into the large man's face. Stupidly, Jidanbo let go of his Zanpakuto to try to break his fall with his hands, as he went flying, and briefly caught sight of it being kicked off the side of the building by the Ryoka.

"W-Who are you?" The Fourth seat whimpered.

"Ichigo Kurosaki. I'd ask in return, but I don't care." Ichigo's irritation was showing. "Now; you are going to tell me where Rukia Kuchiki is, aren't you?"

"Y-Yes sir!"

"Good. Very good."

* * *

><p>"So, I'm looking for a white tower called the Senzaikyu." Ichigo clarified to himself. "Near the centre of the Sereitei." He looked around for something. "But... I still don't know which way that is. Dammit!" Ichigo cursed. He really should have checked that with the Jidanbo guy about that, before he knocked him unconscious. But the orange haired Shinigami had left the annoyance behind by now. Far behind.<p>

Now, Ichigo was bounding from building to building; heading in what he _believed_ to be the right direction, but that was solely based on his instincts. And his instincts, _especially_ in regards to direction, were fallible.

"Where is that blasted cat?!" He continued in his exclamation. It just _had_ to run away. Leaving him on his own in an area that he knew nothing about. "_Think_. If I was a cat, where would I go? And how the hell can I find wherever that is?" He scowled, annoyed. "Okay; cat's are fond of... fish, milk, balls of yarn, mice and... red dots?" Ichigo donned a thoughtful expression and looked up into the sky. "Well... the higher you are, the more you can see. So... I'll go _up_." He crouched low, and shot up into the air in a reiatsu-fueled leap. Several hundred metres up, Ichigo reached the peak of his jump, and hardened reiatsu under his feet, creating the platform that Shinigami tended to make in order to immitate flight.

Standings still, he narrowed his eyes, and lifted his hand to shield the amber orbs from the Sun. To the left, Ichigo simply saw countless buildings, and the same was true as to the right. That didn't look promosing to the orange-haired Shinigami. In front, a walled, grassy area with a large building. Behind, an _unwalled_ grassy area with a large building.

Grass= Water. Water= Fish. Fish=Yoruichi. At least, that's what Ichigo figured.

So which of those two should he go to? Oh! The unwalled version was nearer to a straight, long and wide road. That looked much more promosing to Ichigo than his other option, which was surrounded by buildings. Perhaps that would be the best bet to lead to this white tower. A main road would lead to the centre of the Seireitei, surely.

Did that outweigh how busy it would be, though, since the Shinigami'd probably frequent that road? Eh, he could just follow its general direction. Or fight... well, that would appease his Hollow at least.

* * *

><p>This place really was big. He must have been moving for nearly an hour now; and in reference to the other landmarks, the grassy area had seemed to be in quite close proximity to the human.<p>

Ichigo had been moving toward his target area at a steady jog, this time on the ground to avoid being spotted jumping from rooftop to rooftop as he neared. Being seen too soon would be a _bad _idea. Who knew what the wooded area was? And even more importantly; who knew how many Soul Reapers would be there? Jumping right on top of an indeterminate number of them sounded like a very, very bad idea to Ichigo.

As he neared the main road that he had seen before, Ichigo slowed his pace to a brisk walk. As soon as he saw the cluster of buildings on the other side of the street, the Ryoka would Shunpo across; hopefully avoiding any risk of being spotted. From what he was told, those that would notice Ichigo Flash stepping were very limited. Yoruichi told him that out of the Captains, he'd be seen by those of 1st, 2nd, 4th, 8th, and 13th. And of those, he'd stand no chance of defeating the majority in a fight; since it included the 4 oldest captains, and an assasin. The cat had said that it could help prepare him for that eventuality but, of course, he had to find Yoruichi first.

Ichigo reached the break in the buildings, showing a clear path to a row of trees. He took a deep breath, and channelled reiatsu into his legs, darting over the distance between him and the grassy area in a dull flash.

* * *

><p>"Ugh." Ichigo grunted, as his shoulder caught a tree. "Damn. This is ridiculous. I could use it fine on the way here, and in combat it's easy as pie. So why do I keep messing up this blasted Shunpo?" He muttered to himself, glaring at the tree that he, somewhat illogically, blamed for the discomfort. However, the fact that it had snapped in half, and he had no more than a very mild bruise, told him that he did not need to extract any further revenge on the plant.<p>

"Okay... let me see." He reoriented himself, having been thrown off his path by the minor collision, and faced away from the road, instead looking towards the slightly denser area in the forest. "Water will be this way." He walked into the treeline, sidestepping past a paprticularly gnarly looking tree, and continued on his way.

All of a sudden, the Ryoka felt a pulse of Spiritual Pressure behind him. From... the tree.

He hopped to the side, dodging as a sharpened branch passed through the area previously containing Ichigo's body, and panicked; channelling a smaller amount of Reiatsu, than his Shunpo required, into his legs, and taking off at a run.

Through him against the strongest of people, and Ichigo Kurosaki would have no fear whatsoever about the consequences. Even of the Yammamoat guy Yoruichi had told him about; Ichigo would lose, but he'd be fighting something that he could accept. A _sentient tree_, though, that was slightly unnerving. Who knew what else could be in this accursed forest? He did not want to find out.

'**Fucking creepy ass place! Stupid trees! Let's just get out of here and BURN THE EVIL FOREST from a distance!**' The pale Zangetsu, for once, encouraged a retreat.

Outside the woods that currently contained a powerful, yet fleeing, Human-Shinigami, a task force consisting of half the Tenth Division's ranked members, and many more of their unranked, was gathered. At the moment, they were just waiting the alloted time required before they could abandon their cowardly 10th seat as a lost cause. Thankfully, this was his last chance; the irritating Hippy would have been kicked out on his ass by Captain Hitsugaya long ago, had he not been from a minor noble family, who demanded he be given a second chance. Then a third chance. Then a fourth, fifth and sixth. This one, the seventh, was all that would be tolerated before he'd be 'transferred' to Captain Soi Fon's division for 'personality adjustments'.

They would all be glad to see the pathetic man leave.

Their collective thoughts, however, were well and truly disrupted by the sudden announcement of their soon-to-be target's arrival. The orange haired Invader, at a sprint, smashed through a clump of trees, obliterating them, and kept running full pelt towards the crowd he had shocked with his appearance. It showed just how stern a stuff the unranked members were made of that an odd, multi-layered scream resounded from them as they took in Kurosaki's raggard, and panicked, look on top of the fact that he made no indication that he intended to slow his approach.

As Ichigo reached the Soul Reapers, he deemed the distance between himself and the living forest enough that he might be able to placate it... with a sacrifice, of course. He grabbed the nearest 'Reaper by the scruff of his neck and spun back to face the percieved threat.

"Here! Take him, Devil forest! I will not be eaten by a tree! Not this day nor any other!" He threw the male into the small forest, and lunged at the next Shinigami, picking him up by his bicep.

"As a show of good faith, I am willing to give you another! I will avoid your forest if at all possible from here on out, if you will just agree to call a truce!" The orange haired intruder launched his captive into the trees again, and backed away, watching intently for any movement.

Of course, this confused the hell out of those he was thinning out's heard. That forest was not a 'devil forest', after all. While they were considering the option of voicing this beffudlement, their explanation was given to them in the form of a green haired man, dressed in the standard Shinigami garb, stumbling out of the trees with a triumphant yell.

"I found him, guys! And I led him here!" Aoi Fujioka exclaimed proudly as he righted himself, and pointed his Shikai, which took the form of a curved, wooden tree branch. "He stood no chance against the might of my Shikai!" To illustrate his point, the 9th seat waved the branch he held, and a tree to his right shuddered and shook in response, before it's branches sprung forward at the Ryoka he had 'captured'. Ichigo easily sidestepped the projectiles, and a scowl spread across his face .

"That was _you_?!"

'**HIM?!**'

"Of course it was! Cower before the might of the mighty Aoi Fujio-Kaah!" A foot slammed into the gut of the green-haired man, and the others watched as Aoi was thrown into the very tree that he had been controlling moments before. Ichigo followed close behind him, and grabbed the man by his foot just as the tree splintered thanks to the Soul Reaper's body smashing through it. With a twist of his body, Ichigo flipped the man up and over his head, and Aoi slammed into the ground with a sick thud.

"Bastard." Ichigo commented, as his temper got the best of him in regards to this man. It hurt his pride that such a weak soul had managed to make him flee. Then, he turned to face the crowd, registering that the group consisted of a lot of Shinigami, all of whom had katanas, or similar swords, drawn and pointed at him.

'Oi, Hichigo?' Ichigo asked, a smirk spreading to the hybrid's lips. 'You ready for some action?'

'**Fuck yes! Let's kick some stupid Soul Reaper ass!**'

'Well put, Zangetsu. Well put. How about you, old man?'

'_I am ready, Ichigo._' The second Zangetsu confirmed

The crowd watched as the Ryoka in front of them swiftly drew his longest Katana, followed by his Wakizashi, and the higher ranked among their number were ashamed to note that several of their number let out scared whimpers as the intruder's reiatsu spiked.

"_Come forth, and Pierce the sky; Zangetsu!_"


	5. Toshiro Hitsugaya to the Rescue!

**Here's another chapter of Savage.**

**I hope you all enjoy the chapter, and continue reading.**

**Please do Review/Follow/Favourite.**

**I own nothing you recognise.**

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><p><em>Old man Zangetsu talking<em>

**Hollow Ichigo Zangetsu talking**

Nejibana talking

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><p>"<em>Come Forth, and Pierce the sky, Zangetsu!<em>" Ichigo let go of his moronic method of repression, and felt a wave of relief wash over him as his senses expanded, his reiatsu flooding the area around him. Those in proximity to him felt the pressure build exponentially on their shoulders, following which it mostly receded, and left them staring uneasily at the Ryoka in front of them. Only two Soul Reapers were known to possess a two-blade release state, and the fact that they were also two of the most powerful captains did not bode well for the 10th divisioners in this fight.

The blades were intimidating to say the least. In the orange haired man's left hand, rested the shorter of the two; a pure black Trench knife around the size of its owner's arm, with an enclosed handle that provided protection for Ichigo's hand as he fought. The sword in his right, however, drew more attention from the enemies he currently faced. It was almost as long as he was tall, and had a hilt that was the length of Ichigo's forearm, bandages wrapped entirely around the handle. The blade was, like its fellow, pitch black, and had a hollowed out portion running along the back, from the base up to the mid point of the blade's length.

"You lot going to insist on fighting? 'Cause I'll give you one chance to turn around and run away. You have five seconds." Ichigo stated with a smirk, as he felt an excited energy to cut loose. A little bit, anyway. It was doubtful that any of them could rival Ichigo even at this level. And getting one of them to fetch their captain or lieutenant wouldn't be smart; what about if they brought reinforcements? "No one? Okay, then. Let's get started." Ichigo charged forwards, bringing the longer of his blades in a vicious arc, and sending a gust of wind strong enough to send half the unranked members to the ground in an instant. Had this been a serious fight, or had it been people he sawn as deserving, Ichigo would have unleashed what his genuine attack; but that would kill the majority of his opponents, and he may become the target for the Shinigami's big guns.

Instead, Ichigo sped towards the disoriented Soul Reapers, and the obsidian blades swung, each at a separate target. The two Kimono-wearing males were cut across the shoulder, and blood sprayed from the wounds.

Ichigo froze. That was far more blood than he had expected. Why would _that _quantity come from the cuts? Why was it so much more than the times he landed hits on his other sparring partners? The Zanpakuto, he supposed, could have a different physiology, but why would Urahara be so different?

'_Because he's stronger, Ichigo. When it comes to Shinigami, the more pressure you have, the less susceptible you are to being cut. Think of it as a form of armour that they can create from their own Reiatsu.' _Zangetsu explained.

'Really? Well, Shit.' He would have to be careful. He counted 4 that _seemed_ to have substantial, though not all that significant, amounts of spiritual pressure. They must be the highest ranked. Most of the others seemed to have very, very little chance of faring better than the bleeders did.

As a result, Ichigo flipped the blades over in his hands so that he now held them with the back of the swords facing outwards. This would, hopefully, avoid any serious injuries for his weaker attackers. No matter whether or not he had the support of his partners in wanting to spare them.

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><p>The smallest, youngest captain, though he would explode at anybody that pointed it out, was currently moving at breakneck speed, barely stopping for a millisecond between Shunpos. He had been sent word that the Ryoka had appeared in his division and was dealing fatal blows to his officers. Toshiro Hitsugaya, unlike many of his fellow captains, cared deeply for the men in his division. They were some of the few that had accepted his authority, despite his being younger than many of them and having the appearance of a child. He would not let them be hurt by an intruder that was, by all accounts, a force to be reckoned with.<p>

Unfortunately, Captain Hitsugaya had been in the fourth Division, checking on his injured 6th seat, when he received the alert. Even then, the fight had begun before the captain Flash Stepped away from the medical division.

That explained why, as Hitsugaya, followed soon by his lieutenant, arrived on the roof of his barracks, he was greeted by an extremely unpleasant sight. There they were, each and every member of the Ryoka hunting task-force he had set up, lying on the ground unconscious with varying degrees of injury. 5 of them, Toshiro noted, had their torsos wrapped in bandages and the last of these quintuple had an intimidating, even to one of Hitsugaya's strength, figure stood above him.

Ichigo Kurosaki had sheathed his smaller Shikai blade, the Trench knife now sat on his hip, but had to use Hichigo's Khyber to bandage up his defeated enemies. That was why Hitsugaya's mind jumped to the worst conclusion; the orange haired man had a massive, unconventional sword resting on his right shoulder. Almost in the position to deliver a killing blow to the unconscious Shinigami.

"_Sit upon the Frosted Heavens, Hyorinmaru!_" An ice-made Chinese dragon slammed into the ground, just behind where Ichigo had been standing a second prior. Out of instinct, Ichigo had Shunpo'd away. Thankfully, this time he had only chosen to Flash Step a small distance. And so, he had not gotten lost. Thank God.

"Why are you here, Ryoka?!" Ichigo turned and found the source of that yell; a childlike Soul Reaper dressed in a white Haori holding a released Zanpakuto that appeared to be affecting the area around wherever they were. That variation on the uniform meant that he must be a captain, based on what Yoruichi had told Ichigo, and so the Human-Shinigami made a conscious effort not to judge his opponent based on the boy's unimposing physical appearance. Nor did he let himself be distracted by the appearance of a tall, busty female, who's attire highlighted the fact, next to the Ice-Zanpakuto wielding Captain.

"Did you have to go so fast Captain?" She complained to the white haired boy next to her.

"Yes, I did, Matsumoto. If I had not, then our opponent would have executed Seventh seat Takezoe."

"He what?!" She turned, looking to the black haired unconscious Shinigami to check her comrades were okay, and let out a relieved sigh when she found none of them to have been killed.

"Yes. I got here to find him stood over our Seventh seat with his blade poised to kill the defenceless m-"

"Whoa! Whoa, wait a minute! I did no such thing! I'd just healed him, since the stubborn bastard refused to go down until I knocked him unconscious." The accused responded, calling to the Captain and who he assumed to be his Lieutenant.

"Healed him?" Toshiro called, back in a confused tone of voice.

"Well... I healed him as well as I could. Really, that was just to the point that his wounds aren't any real danger to his health and then wrapping him in bandages. But I still tried!"

"But why would you heal him, or any of us?" Rangiku called over, having noticed the Ryoka's presence.

"Why wouldn't I? I had no need to kill him. As you can see, for the majority of them I didn't even use the edge."

The two Shinigami shot each other a confused look, and began a hushed conversation.

"I thought that you said that the Ryoka was a bloodthirsty killer." Rangiku commented, having been told by her captain, not an hour prior, that they had found an entire village, that the invader had passed through, slaughtered mercilessly. They had only stopped themselves from putting him down on sight because the Captain-Commander had ordered Toshiro, and all the captains, that Kurosaki was to be caught alive if at all possible.

"That is what I was told, yes. And he matches the description that we were given..." Matsumoto gave a frown, and replied with a question.

"Who gave you that information?"

"Captain..." The small soul gritted his teeth. "Captain Ichimaru." He hissed. The busty Lieutenant's expression turned to an angry frown, and the two reached a conclusion that he had, at best, lied to the council. It was unfortunate, but the teal-haired man may have done much more than that. There was something _very_ wrong with him.

"Fine. Ryoka, you will accompany me to meet with the Head-Captain. We will give this information to him to instigate a proper investigation into your crimes. Will you come peacefully?" Hitsugaya asked, a stern tone to his voice.

"No. Sorry, but I don't see how that would end well with me." Ichigo shrugged. "Besides, I'd prefer to avoid the Yamamoat guy as much as possible."

"I see." Hitsugaya's expression didn't change. "Thankfully, I did not expect you to comply. Prepare yourself, Kurosaki Ichigo. I will not hold back!" He exclaimed, raising his sword to prepare his opening attack.

"You want to fight?" Ichigo asked, scowling. "Usually, I would oblige you, but if we fought, I _really _doubt we wouldn't attract attention. So, I would like to say, I really am sorry." He raised the larger Zangetsu, as the Khyber knife glowed blue. With a swing, he sent the, underpowered, Getsuga Tensho at the grouped unconscious Squad Ten Soul Reapers. The two others' eyes widened at the attack. While a few seated Shinigami may survive, the weaker ones would perish. That explained Hitsugaya's priorities in his next move.

"Rangiku! Attack him!" The captain ordered, as he appeared in front of the energy wave with a burst of Shunpo.

"Right." She said in reply. "_Growl, Heinek- _Wait, where'd he go?"

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><p>"Well, Yoruichi wasn't <em>there<em>. But that's annoying more than anything else." The orange haired teen scowled. "I really don't feel like going all over the place trying to find her. I'll head towards Rukia, or where I _think_ Rukia is, and hope that she's around there. Maybe if I get in a few fights, and cause a commotion, the cat'll find me."

Ichigo shrugged, his patience having worn thin, and turned to set off in the correct general direction. He had only travelled a little way away from the 10th Division barracks, and so was aware of where the main road was.

"...In the morning." The events of today had, apparently, taken longer than the Human-turned-Shinigami had thought. The sun was setting and, now that he thought about it, he was rather tired.

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><p>Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, Head Captain of the Gotei13 and the most powerful Shinigami to have been born in more than 1000 years, was tired. So very tired.<p>

Tired of dealing with the day to day running of... everyting. The squabbles of people far, far younger than him; those that had too much energy to waste on nonconsequental things. Things he just did not understand. He was tired of war, and also of peace. He wished there was something, _anything_ that he still cared for. As it was, he cared for his children; not truly his offspring, but those he valued as though they were, he cared for the lives of those he protected. But he could not find it in himself anymore to understand why those youngsters ran around as they did, acting like they had too much to do, and too little time. Perhaps they did. Perhaps they would not live for the countless years he had.

But he could not... he _would not_ abandon his duty. The safety of his people mattered too much for him to bequeth the duty onto a lesser being. One day, there would surely be a time that he was needed to lead once more, and that, if he was granted one boon for his lifetimes worth of service, he would give his life for. Preferably protecting those who needed life more than he.

At least, that had been his plan. What he had truly believed to be his destiny.

Until this... this _human_ came. This human, a species that, by all accounts, was supposed to be unremarkable, came with power that he could _see_ was special. That was vastly more unique than any he had seen before.

As Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto stood silently over the still, sleeping form of Ichigo Kurosaki, his eyes, usually so full of apathy, so far from a true reflection of his true nature, burned bright. His hands clenched over the knot at the top of his cane, and, beneath the mighty beard he sported, his scarred lips twisted into an imitation of a grin. This boy, he had more potential than even the Head-Captain himself when he was a youngster. Either he would be the greatest ally the Gotei 13 could possess, or he may be the very enemy against which Genryūsai gave his last, and greatest, effort.

But the oldest Shinigami in existence knew one thing. The Kurosaki boy would do what he thought to be right. And once _this _was over and done with, and the explanation for such a harsh crime to be dealt to Kuchiki was explained, Genryūsai would go about convincing the youngster that the Gotei 13 was always striving to do what was right.

Hopefully the boy would not sacrifice his happiness as his observer long since had.

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><p>"Well, you look rather... worse for wear." Ichigo commented, as he found himself greeted by the battered form of his inner HollowShinigami.

"**Fuck you, ya Rat Bastard.**" Hichigo growled out, running his hand over a spot in his pure white cloting that looked to have three holes, about the proportions of what would be caused by being skewered by a trident.

"I'm guessing you're blaming me for drawing Nejibana's attention to you, right?" Ichigo asked, having trouble keeping the smirk off his face. A fact that, based on his growl, Hichigo seemed to notice. "It's your own fault for interrupting... whatever that was."

"**You can't seriously be that dense, King. After all, I'm a part of you, and I'm a pervert.**"

"Dense? I'm pretty sure I am." Ichigo shrugged. "But I realise that the way she kissed me had... connotations."

"Is that what you would call it, Ichigo-sama?" A feminine voice asked, from behind Ichigo. The Hollow let out a loud _Eep_, and took off at a run.

"Well, I think that it's a bad way to put it, but I'm really not sure why you did it." Ichigo said, as he turned to the female Zanpakuto with a slightly uncomfortable grin.

"I..." Nejibana seemed to visibly steady her restraint. "Apologees, Ichigo-sama. I did not intend to cross a line in my actions, and hope that you can forgive me." She bowed slightly in a formal manner.

"Forgive you? You don't need to worry about that, Flower." Ichigo commented, with a more sombre expression. "I didn't understand it, but it was... nice." He, unsurprisingly, reddened as he finished the statement.

"Nice? I was hoping you would consider it more than nice." She pouted. "After all, _mittens_ are _nice_."

"No, no! It was... it was... I don't know how to describe it! I enjoyed it, but it was... surprising." The blue haired girl smiled softly at the, admittedly slightly awkward, compliment her wielder/crush had given her.

"I'm glad to hear it, Ichigo." She said, before returning to the topic that had been interrupted the night before. "But, I think we have more pressing matters to attend to. I feel I need to explain your Bankai to you."

"Oh, yeah. You didn't tell me how I can acheive it, did you?" Ichigo replied, with a thoughtful expression.

"No. I'm afraid my attention was pulled _elsewhere_ before I could." Nejibana had an angry expression now; one that looked foreign on her ordinarily peaceful face. Ichigo didn't blame the Hollow for running. "But that kiss was my way of checking... I'd long since decided that the criteria for me giving you my Bankai form, would be trust. And I trust you, Ichigo. I trust you to never use me, to _value _me, unlike so many Soul Reapers, and I trust you to... live. To live for what is right, and to live for _me_. The same as I will live for _you_. And, so, we can truly be partners." Her expression shifted to one of real happiness. "And, hopefully, not just as Zanpakuto and Wielder."

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><p>"Where in God's name is everyone?" Ichigo wondered, very much confused He had been travelling on the main rode for a good few hours now; and yet he had encountered not a single Soul Reaper. He had been given a couple of theories by Zangetsu and Nejibana; the most promosing of which was the idea that those other than the highest ranked officers had been ordered to stay in their Division Barracks, but the absense made him uneasy. Like... the calm before the storm.<p>

He had been flashing forwards every few steps for a half hour by now, covering a small distance with each Shunpo so that he would not lose control of the technique, and the massive hill that had become visible long before that seemed to be getting quite close. Before that, however, there was a massive set of stairs. One that, for reasons unknown, had the bottom portion engulphed in a thick mist.

Ichigo slowed to a cautious pace as he entered the fog, deciding quickly that charging blindly into it would be a bad idea, to say the least. Especially since his senses were blocked, once again, by his makeshift suppression technique.

This place just screamed _trap_ and, so, Ichigo drew his, as yet, in his time in the Soul Society, untouched, katana, and advanced while maintaining his cautious pace.

'Oh?' Ichigo wondered. 'It looks like the mist is clearing.' A soft breeze had begun to blow through the courtyard-looking place that Ichigo was slowly moving through, allowing him to get a better view of the giant staircase he at the end.

With a whisper of steel-on-sheath, Ichigo drew Nejibana. There was someone at the bottom of the stairs.

As the mist properly cleared, he saw one of the two from the Human World. The one he had been beating with his non-Zanpakuto before the quieter of the two stepped in and stabbed him in the chest. Something, however, told Ichigo that there was more to him than had been shown in their first confrontation.

'This is one of the ones who attacked you, Ichigo?' Nejibana asked, her voice cold, as Ichigo's eyes narrowed at the sight of one of Rukia's kidnappers.

'That's right.'

'Well, then, I would ask that you crush him. If not for yourself, then for me.'

Ichigo smirked, as his soon-to-be opponent stood and began to approach the Ryoka he blamed for his _friend's_ sentence.

"It has been a long time, Ryoka." The red, pineapple haired man began. "Do you remember my face?" The Shinigami asked, seriously.

"While I would rather forget, I still have business with you... Abarai Renji!" Ichigo snarled, as the two foze, in a standoff.

"You remember, not only my face, but my name as well?" The man gave a smirk. "You really are full of surprises And that is not even taking into account that you have somehow come back from the dead. After all, I saw Captain Kuchiki cut you down. Someone as weak as you could not possibly survive such wounds."

"Hmm. Which captain was Kuchiki, then?" Ichigo asked, filing the insult away for a moment.

"Captain of squad six. The squad where I serve him as Lieutenant!"

"Lieutenant, huh? I haven't fought a Lieutenant yet." Ichigo felt a grin spread across his face. "This should be interesting!"

"You cannot think that you stand on my level. After all, I can feel virtually no reiatsu coming from you. But I am glad you will fight. Because I am going to kill the one who stole Rukias powers!" He drew the katana resting on his left hip. "This is as far as you go! While you still live, Rukia cannot regain her powers!"

"Why would you care about that?! You have just sentenced her to die!"

The pair charged, each swinging their blade in a viscious swing. Nejibana and Zabimaru collided in mid air, pushing against each other in a test of strength. His eyes widening as he was forced back, Renji broke the stale mate first, forcing his opponent to break the hold with a shove against the blade. The red haired man grunted with the exertion, as Ichigo took a step back and brought up his sword again. Nejibana sliced through the air towards Renji's ribs. The Lieutenant brought his own katana up, blocking the blow from reaching its target, but sending himself flying in exchange. His path through the air sent him crashing into the wall across the courtyard, and Ichigo stopped, watching the area with caution; awaiting Renji's return.

"Bastard..." The Shinigami growled at his opponent, as he climbed out of the newly made hole. The tattooed man gripped the katana with both hands and vanished in a burst of Shunpo; appearing in front of Ichigo mid-strike, his Zanpakuto veering towards the Orange haired human's throat.

Ichigo ducked, avoiding the blow, and slammed his fist into the gut of his enemy. Renji gasped, a splatter of blood spraying from his mouth as he shot back yet again. This time, with Ichigo following in pursuit; his katana held in his right hand, while his left was still clenched into a fist.

As his back slammed against the wall, and Renji had a second of reprieve, he felt shock as the only emotion present. When Ichigo's foot slammed into the redhead's side, he could not understand how the human had grown so much stronger in such a brief period.

It was loking like he should use...

"_Howl, Zabimaru!_" Renji ran his hand down the length of the katana, the blade's width growing significantly from the hilt to the end, as the handle remained unchanged. The blade was slightly longer, and divided into six segments, each of which had two small blades portruding from the front and the back; the front being significantly longer than the reverse. Along the back of Zabimaru, it was solid black.

With a swing of the large blade, Renji showed its proper function; the segments lengthening out, with stretchable thread connecting them, as a deadly whip toward Ichigo.

The Orange haired hybrid quickly stepped to the side, avoiding the first blow, and brought Nejibana up hastily to block Renji's redirection. The red haired man swung the lengthy blade again, and it came down in an axe blow, trying to puncture, and then tear open, Ichigo's shoulder. Bringing up his Wakizashi, Ichigo knocked the attack off course, at which Renji growled.

"Where did _you_ get spare Zanpakuto?" Ichigo responded with a slight smirk; glad that that was the conclusion Abarai came to. Had he realised Ichigo had more than one of his own Zanpakuto, Renji would be far more panicked than he was at the moment. And, so, Ichigo didn't respond.

Annoyed, Renji whipped Zabimaru back toward his opponent. This time, he was met by the standard-sized katana of his opponent, and Ichigo forced it off to the side, happy as he noted that the blade was retracting. As Zabimaru was recharged, Renji watched, eyes wider than normal, as he saw a release that he was sure he recognised.

Ichigo held the dark blue hilted katana upside down, and began to twirl it, the blade glowing golden as it span. In a second, the katana had transformed into a far longer weapon. Nejibana's Shikai appeared to be a trident at first glance, but also had elements of a spear and a Halberd. Below the trident, a tassle, that was a slightly darker blue than the length, swayed slightly in the soft breeze. On the opposite end to the trident, a drill, instead of the traditional spear head, sat.

"_Surge, Waters and Heaven, Nejibana!_" With a mighty swing, a wave careened towards the red haired Lieutenant, but was slow enough for Renji to dodge out of the way, Zabimaru finishing its retraction as he reappeared, only to notice that Ichigo had used the wave as cover to escape rom sight.

"Where the hell is h-eee!" The question was cut off as face of the trident slammed into his side, the flat of the three prongs sending the redhead flying. As though he was caught by an unbelievably strong wave. Well, as he noted while flying through the air yet again, that was exactly what had happened; a tidal wave carried him along, and smashed against the wall of the cliff off to the side of their battle. As Renji clawed his way out of the flood, he was pinned to the wall, and let out a gasp of pain, by Nejibana's three prongs stabbing through his right side.

"Y-You bast-ard." Renji groaned out, as he locked eyes with Ichigo. "Y-You... Save her..." He slumped, blood pouring from him as Ichigo yanked Nejibana out of the now-limp body.

Both Shikais faded away, as Ichigo resheathed Nejibana and drew the larger Zangetsu.

"_Pierce the sky, Zangetsu._" He whispered, and set to work applying bandages.


	6. Kenpachi Zaraki, violence and Nakedness

**Same as last chapter. I just felt like posting another one today.**

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><p>"You'd have thought they'd build an escalator or something." Ichigo complained, as he reached the top of the massive set of stairs, having left Renji as he felt some more presences approaching. He'd be fine until they got him to their medical division.<p>

The Human-turned-Shinigami flinched visibly, as he felt... someone. He had a good idea just who is was, and was not looking forward to this confrontation. Apparently the captain of Squad 11 was one of the most powerful Shinigami in the Soul Society and, based on Spiritual Pressure alone, was potentially the _most_ formidable.

The only option, however, was to press on forward. His Zanpakuto may differ in their opinions on _many_ matters, but none of them would accept him running from a fight simply because it might be a little _tough_. And he, along with them, was confident that he could defeat the Kenpachi in combat. Simply because neither had formal training in most Shinigami skills, but Ichigo had more, unlike his soon-to-be opponent, abilities than just attacking wildly and with overwhelming force.

This did, however, mean Ichigo could drop the constricting restraints that he had needed for his stay in the Seireitei thus far. Ichigo's reiatsu enthusiastically sprang forth, relieving the pressure that had been pressing on his shoulders.

"Ahh," Ichigo sighed. "That feels better. Fucking constraints." He cracked his neck, and rolled his shoulders as he let out a satisfied groan. This wouldn't be a fight where he could afford to hold back; since his Bankais probably wouldn't be any help with a fighter that relied on brute force like Zaraki. Well, one of his Bankais wouldn't. The other...

But that was rendered unimportant by Hichigo's excited suggestion/demand.

'**Oi, King! I wanna fight, I wanna fight! You owe me for releasin' me just to heal Pineapple Head a mo' ago! If ya don't let me fight, I might just 'accidentally' strangle someone with my bandages next time 'round.**' Unsurprisingly, the pale Zangetsu was the only one that cared whether he fought or not. And, so, Ichigo obliged him.

-()-()-(0-

"Keeen-Chaaaan..." Yachiru whined, from her perch on her captain's shoulder. "How much longer do we have to wait until Ichi arrives?" They were currently sat on top of a building, waiting not too far from the Senzaikyu; the location that 11th squad's Third seat had suggested he might be going; given that that was where Rukia Kuchiki was being kept until it was time for her execution.

"I already told you, Yachiru, I don't know when he'll get here. Just that he will pass by this way at some point." Zaraki Kenpachi said, through gritted teeth.

"But I'm booored."

"We've already played your games, it's my turn." The pinkette huffed and plopped her chin on her adoptive father's shoulder. "But... I think that may be him." The captain gave a wicked grin as his sharp eyes caught sight of a tall, though not to his own degree, orange haired, sleeveless Shihakusho wearing figure. Across the male's back, a huge blade rested. It seemed, to Zaraki, that this would be a _very_ fun fight.

-()-()-(0-

Ichigo stopped, as he felt something change. The captain-class Shinigami had moved, apparently, and not away from the Ryoka.

"Yo. Good of you to join me." Ichigo commented, calmly. The proverbial eye of the hurricane had moved to the spot not too far behind him. He scratched the centre of his chest. "Impressive killing intent you've got there. For a moment I thought you'd actually run me through with that there blade."

"Of course I joined ya." A deep rumble responded, with a chuckle. "I think you can give me a good fight. You're Ichigo Kurosaki, yeah?"

"That's right." Ichigo nodded, turning to face his opponent. "And I'm thinking you'll be Kenpahi Zaraki; Captain of 11th Division."

"Haha. Yeah. That's me."

"And I'm his Lieutenant!" A chipper voice announced, as a pink headed girl popped up from behind the tall captain. Her darker pink eyes were glinting happily as she smiled at Ichigo. Ichigo smiled back, but it wasn't quite as easy-going as hers was.

"Hey, I don't know about the morality of you Soul Reapers, but I'm not fighting a little girl." Said girl frowned at the implication.

"Kenny wouldn't do that! Kenny fights one on one!" She said, with a slight pout.

"Good." Ichigo turned back to the bell-wearing captain. "Shall we begin?"

"Hehe. Definitely. Yachiru, can you go wait on that building?" He gave a half-hearted wave towards a building.

"Okay! Bye Ken-Chan! Bye Ichi-Chan!" She vanished in a burst of Shunpo.

"One thing I wanna know," Kenpachi pondered aloud. "You seem stronger than Kuchiki said you were.

"You complaining?"

"Hell no! If you weren't strong, how could I have fun?" Zaraki pointed out. "Nah, it just doesn't make sense since you haven't had that many fights since you got 'ere. How'd you grow so much stronger? And can I make some of my division do it so that they'll be more fun?"

"It'll take quite a while to explain; I assume you don't care enough for me to take the time to tell you. But, no, it wouldn't work for your subordinates."

"Ah. That sucks. But you're right; I don't care enough to listen to the story." He shouldered his Zanpakuto. "I'd rather get to the fight."

"Yep. Y'know, I've been told to run away if I meet a captain..."

"Oh? I'd hate to have to chase you down to kill you." Zaraki scowled.

"You won't have to. I'd never live it down if I did." Ichigo copied his opponents stance, shouldering Zangetsu.

"Those swords." Zaraki nodded to the still sheathed blades. "You gonna use them?"

"Probably not, no. But I'd feel... naked without them."

"Huh. A shame; I haven't fought many dual wielders before." He remarked.

"Oh? Maybe some time in the future." The captain scowled, disliking that.

"Tss. So you don't wanna go to the death?"

"I won't kill you, no." Ichigo stated.

"Tss. Fine, if you manage to survive, I doubt I'll feel the need to finish you off." It was true, he didn't often go out of his way to kill his enemies. "But in exchange, I ain't lettin' you have the first move." He grinned sadistically, and readied the Zanpakuto he had never spoken to.

Kenpachi lunged forwards, his battered-looking katana swinging towards his target, who, for some reason, frowned visibly before bringing his Khyber knife up to block the blow, being thrown back by the strength of Kenpachi's blow. The captain was, certainly, a strong one.

Ichigo righted himself in mid-air, stabbing Zangetsu into the ground to remove his momentum, and prepared to retaliate with a snarl. He chucked the Zanpakuto into the air, confusing his opponent greatly, and snatched a bandage out of mid air. The blade reached his peak, and Ichigo yanked the make-shift rope harshly behind him. Immediately after, he span his hand in a wicked circle around his head. The blade span very, very fast, imitating a human invention that Kenpachi believed was called a buzz-saw.

All of a sudden, the rotations ceased, and the Khyber knife was flung at the captain, like a gigantic, and sinister, dart. He raised his Zanpakuto, in order to bat aside the blade, but found himself regretting that as he was forced to focus his attention on the action at hand; meaning that he did not notice that Ichigo had tautened the bandage he used to spin Zangetsu. As the blade was knocked aside, and the Kenpachi prepared to cut the bandage connecting it, he saw Ichigo was no longer in front of him; as his view was now unobstructed. In fact, the bandage led off to the opposite side to the blade.

Leaping backwards, the Khyber blade passed through the space Zaraki had just occupied. It flew back to the hand of its waiting wielder, and Eleventh Squad's captain grinned at the look of slight annoyance his dodge inspired in Ichigo.

"A shame. I thought you'd at least get nicked by Zangetsu." He raised the body-length blade again and leapt forward at the Grinning captain.

Their blades collided, and Ichigo added strength to what had been put into his first, this time resulting in the two reaching a stalemate. In this meeting, Ichigo broke the stalemate, pushing the captain back a few paces. This, however, just inspired his grin to grow, before Kenpachi lunged forward again, his Zanpakuto aimed at Ichigo's shoulder in a harsh swipe. Ichigo stepped forward, the man's arm hitting him instead of the worn out blade. Ichigo responded to the attack by slamming the bandaged hilt of his Zanpakuto into the larger man's stomach, seemingly knocking the wind out of him and sending him back another few feet. Zaraki let out a bout of maniacal laughter.

"You must be strong!" He leaped at Ichigo yet again, the nodachi he held whistling toward the orange haired combatant's chest. "But how strong are you?!"

In response, Ichigo swept Zangetsu upwards, the two blades colliding and the unnamed, at this point, Zanpakuto being knocked completely away from Ichigo, though it remained in Kenpachi's hand. The Khyber knife slashed across the already scarred chest, cutting it open, though in a far less serious injury than just about anyone else would suffer from such an attack.

"HAH!" Kenpachi roared, and moved faster than Ichigo had come to expect from the heavy captain. His blade pierced slammed into the Khyber blade, and Ichigo stumbled back, before the nodachi stabbed through his right shoulder, inspiring a surprised gasp from Ichigo. Though it was not from the pain of such a wound...

'That voice...'

Ichigo's foot slammed into Kenpachi's gut, throwing the bigger man away and tearing the sword from Ichigo's torso.

Kenpachi's eyes widened, as he felt the Ryoka's Reiatsu skyrocket.

"_Come forth, Zangetsu!_"

And the man attacked with vigour, a second blade was in Ichigo's other hand. Zaraki would have grinned as the difficulty increased further. The Khyber knife blade slashed across his gut, followed by the Trench stabbing straight through Zaraki's shoulder. While the blade was certainly smaller than its partner, a stab wound from it was far from insubstantial; even to the captain. As blood sprayed from the suddenly unplugged wound, the spiky haired man's grin grew massive.

"Now _this_ is getting good..." Kenpachi's hand moved up to the right side of his face, and he gripped the eyepatch with his unharmed hand. "But don't grow... complacent!" The man tore the accessory off, and Ichigo's eyes widened.

This was more reiatsu than he had ever felt before. It had a very... _intimidating_ feel. The captain, ignoring the hole in his shoulder, charged forth again. The damaged blade made to bisect Ichigo, but was blocked by a, suddenly glowing, pair of unconventional blades. The Zangetsu's pushed the nodachi back, and, again, Zaraki's grin widened.

"Hah! I'm definitely not gonna kill you! This is way too much fun!" Yellow reiatsu built up behind him, and he raised his blade. "I can stop holding BACK!" He gripped the hilt of his blade with his right hand. Not an image that would normally mean much, but this, also, exponentially increased the captain's output.

'Nope.' Ichigo said to himself. 'Who knows what else he's got up his sleeves.'

The torrent of reiatsu crushed the ground, and the air whipped around Kenpachi; cutting off the sound of his opponent's voice.

"... DABURU!" Two bright blue crescents of reitsu roared towards the 11th Division Captain, running parallel to each other.

"What the..." They collided with the captain, engulfing his form briefly, and preventing him from being seen, even by his ever-loyal Lieutenant, who had just finished scaring off a messenger. As the light faded away, it showed a shocked-expression in place of Kenpachi's grin.

Two large wounds ran down Zaraki's torso; both enough to instantly render any normal person, even at full health, unconscious in an instant. As it was, the man stood gaping for a few moments, before the grin returned, his eyes close, and slumped to the ground, unconscious.

Ichigo sheathed his smaller Shikai on his right hip, and neared the unconscious man, bandages unwrapping as he neared.

"Thank you Ichi-Chan!" A pink bundle exclaimed, popping up, somehow unnoticed, on his shoulder.

"Whoa! Jeez, don't do that." Ichigo clutched his chest. "Thanks for what, anyway?"

"For helping Kenny have fun! It's been a long time since someone lasted so long in one of his games! Especially since you won!" She hopped over to her pseudo-father and lifted him, in a surprising feat of strength, before vanishing in a blur of Shunpo.

Ichigo, meanwhile, realised his clothing was drenched with his blood; from the shoulder wound made so much worse by the blade's forceful removal. He focused his reiatsu on that spot in particular, and felt his abilities drain him a little more than he already had been. The orange haired Shinigami let out a yawn, and shrugged. He might as well find somewhere to take a nap.

-()-()-()-()-

When Ichigo woke, his first emotion was, most definitely, confusion. This... room, was not where he had fallen asleep. The confusion was shortly followed by panic, and Ichigo leapt to his feet. This was furthered when he found that, as his hands went to his waist for one of his blades, they were missing.

As his hand went to his lower back, his actions were interrupted by a masculine tone.

"You were far less injured than I had expected, Ichigo." His head spun to face the cat that had spoken, and his hand dropped to his side. "I had predicted a marginal win against Kenpachi, if I am completely honest." Why was the feline's gaze on the wall behind Ichigo, when it was talking to the newly-Shinigami? Ichigo glanced down, and found his clothing had been much more... damaged in his fight than he had thought. Now, he was wearing little more than rags, and most of his body was covered only by bandages. It would be rather fortunate, soon enough, that his bottoms still covered the vital areas.

"Ah. Sorry about my state of dress." Ichigo said, misinterpreting, unsurprisingly, Yoruichi's feelings towards how he currently looked. "Oh, and, by the way, Yoruichi, next time you should be more thorough in disarming someone." His sash, with the sheathed swords attached, sat next to Yoruichi.

"What do you... Oh. You mean Tabigarasu? Hmm. I guess I forgot about that." The cat cocked its head in a more canine manner, and ran its eyes around the room. "Would you mind telling me where it is."

"I'd rather not." Ichigo looked around the room in which he had woken, too, and changed the subject. "Did you pick me up when I was napping?"

"That is right."

"Uh... How?" He looked, confusedly, at the cat. "You _really_ don't seem big enough to carry me here."

"Oh, that is an easy task in my other form." Yoruichi said, simply. Apparently she didn't notice Ichigo's befuddled expression, until he voiced his confusion.

"...Other form?" The cat responded with the same expression Ichigo currently displayed.

"Oh. I never did show you my true form, did I?"

There was a flash of reiatsu, and a cloud of white smoke, Ichigo found himself in a very uncomfortable position.

Crouched in front of the now sitting Shinigami-Human, was a purple haired, beautiful woman. And Ichigo felt his eyes drawn, like any red blooded male, to her... nether regions. She was, for lack of a better way to be described, on display. And by "on display", I mean she was very much naked.

The dark skinned woman smirked, proudly, at the change in expression of the boy she was, and she insisted to herself that this was what she was doing, teasing. Ichigo had a very obvious blush crawling up his neck, and his facial expression gave the impression of vacancy, as he forced his eyes further up her body; to look her in the eye again.

From Ichigo's point of view, however, far more than that had happened.

It wasn't exactly surprising that his Hollow spoke up. He had often referred to himself as Ichigo's 'Inner Pervert', after all.

'**Motorboat! Motorboat! Motorboat! Motorboat! Motorboat! Motorboat! Motorboat! Motorboat! Motorboat! Motorboat! Motorboat! Motorboat! Motorboat! Motorboat! Motorboat! Motorboat!**' The chant did not stop there, but Ichigo 'muted' Hichigo until the bleached Zanpakuto had gotten it out of his system.

Of the other two male spirits, neither was anywhere near as obvious as Hichigo in their interest. Tabigarusa simply turned his attention to the events unfolding, and Ichigo couldn't say for sure if Old Man Zangetsu gave any response at all, but he thought the man, as a part of Ichigo, was at least vaguely interested.

Lastly, Ichigo looked to the sole female spirit living inside his head; mentally cringing at the expected reaction, and found himself shocked. He had been dreading accusation, or jealousy, or something of the sort. His prediction was incorrect, evidently. Nejibana's interest, though far from Hichigo's level of obviousness, was quite clear to Ichigo. In fact, she seemed a little... aroused.

'I _am_ a part of you now, Ichigo-sama.' She replied to his shock. 'While I am a separate entity, I am influenced by the things you enjoy.' A disturbing thought occurred to Ichigo.

'Wait... so your kissing me was really... me kissing myself?' He asked, horrified. The Zanpakuto let out a burst of musical laughter.

'No, Ichigo. It's not that literal. What I meant was that I perceive certain things through your eyes, an so have grown to... appreciate them. My feelings toward you are my own, don't worry.' Well, that _was_ relieving to the orange haired hybrid. 'I believe that you aught to speak to the naked one,' Ichigo let out a chukle, as he met Yoruichi's eyes, and she responded with an offended look.

"Do I look funny to you?" She sounded genuinely offended, which surprised Ichigo.

"No, not at all. You look..." He trailed of, blush somehow increasing. "It's just that I believe you have earned a new nickname from my Zanpakuto."

"Oh?" The Goddess of the Flash asked, relieved.

"Aye. They're probably going to be calling you 'The naked one' from here on out." The teasing woman's cheeks only reddened a fraction of the colour that was still present on Ichigo's, before she gained a slightly evil smirk.

"Is that so?" She leant forwards slightly. "Does that mean you want me to stay naked then, Ichigo?"

Now, had Ichigo answered this question, he's have spluttered out a few denials before regaining control of himself. But Ichigo had a bit of help this time, and felt the sensation of briefly being put in the passenger seat. Nejibana, this time.

"Hmm." Ichigo felt himself respond, lips curling into a smirk, cheeks returning to their natural colour and eyes... wandering. "I think I could get used to it, naked-san." His tongue darted out, wetting his lips.

"W-What?" _Now_ she was surprised. Yoruichi had fully expected a spluttering, embarrassed Ichigo. Not one that was so confident as to tease her right back. "Wait... naked-san?" Ichigo, back in control, resembled his namesake once again. "Ichigo... was that one of your Zanpakuto?"

"Y-Yeah." Ichigo noded enthusiastically to assure her of this truth, and missed the shocked expression that Yoruichi was often finding herself wearing around the fascinating man in front of her.

"Well... I guess I really shouldn't be surprised any more." She mumbled to herself, shaking her head in a bewildered manner. Ichigo Kurosaki really was unique.

"Hey... Yoruichi?"

"Yes, Ichigo?"

"Can you please put some clothes on?" He had, now, averted his eyes from the nude form.

"Ah. I suppose that you would be more comfortable if I did, wouldn't you? I always forget the insistence that humans have for covering themselves." She found a large-collared sweatshirt... somewhere, and donned it. "I am curious, Ichigo," The purple haired ex-Shinigami began; doing her utmost to keep her voice level and finding it oddly difficult. "Is that the first time you have seen a girl naked? Your reaction was rather extreme, after all."

"Yeah, that's right." He replied, head still turned away. She was surprised by how calm he sounded. Apparently the Human-turned-Shinigami wasn't as bothered by such a comment as most men would have been. That was a good thing.

'**Hey Ichigo! Hey! Hey! HEY!**' The Hollow in Ichigo's head demanded his attention. '**She's a cat, right? And you just saw her **_**pussy**_**! HAHAHA!**' He found it far more humorous than Ichigo, or any of the others who heard.

"Well..." Yoruichi began, with a smirk that hid what would have been a genuine smile. "Would you like to see it again? Life is short after all; you should capitalise on the chance to see a hot young girl like me in all my glory." He turned to her, in time to see she had lifted her top, showing most of her body once again, and gave a visible flinch, before forcing himself to turn away, thanks to the volume of his Hollow's affirmative. Once more, Yoruichi took the reaction badly, and would have questioned the reaction, but thought better of it. Based on his reaction earlier, Ichigo _did_ find her attractive. She wouldn't worry, for now. In the future, though, she would do her utmost to... gather additional data.

-()-()-()-

"Ugh. I'd forgotten how uncomfortable it was to wear clothes." Yoruchi complained. She was now dressed in black, stretch trousers and brown shoes, a black under shirt and an orange jacket.

"You already said that, Yoruichi." Ichigo commented from his position walking next to her as they headed for what the mysterious woman had reffered to as 'the ideal place to train for Bankai'. She had Shunpo'd them to the entrance, but said that it was best for Ichigo to know where exactly they were, in case he needed a safe place while inside the Soul Society. "Hey, Yoruichi," Ichigo began, receiving the were-cat's attention. "You seem quite skilled in Shunpo." He commented.

"Oh, that's an understatement, dear Ichigo." She said, with a smirk. "Back when I was still living here, I was known as _the goddess of the flash_." She turned a glare on Ichigo as he snorted. "Are you making fun of my title, Ichigo?"

"In a way, yeah." He said, amusement heavy in his tone. "You must realise why else it may be fitting to you."

"What do you..." She remembered the other verb of 'to flash'. "Oh." Her cheeks, once again, reddened slightly at Ichigo's jibe. "Well, I got it for being the most proficient in the use of Flash Step out of all the Shinigami." Ichigo raised an eyebrow, and likely would have asked about her origins, but was stopped by the dark-skinned soul continuing. "Unless, of course, you would like to challenge me for that position." Yoruichi asked with a smirk, only for Ichigo to respond with a snort. "You sound a little overconfident there, Ichigo."

"Oh, no. That wasn't a snort of confidence. The idea of me challenin you; especially if you were that talented in the art, is ridiculous... Plus, I'm not sure being called the _goddess_ of the flash would really suit me."

"Why is it ridiculous?" She ignored the second comment. Ichigo seemed remarkably skilled in it during his fight with Kisuke. Why would he think himself bad at it?

"Oh, I don't know. Probably because, when I'm not in a fight, if I can't see a clear path to where I want to go, I'm lucky to end up even going in that general_ direction._ Let alone end up where I want to be." Yoruichi exhaled in a loud, annoyed manner.

"Yet another thing Kisuke didn't bother teaching you." She growled out, annoyed at her friend's idiocy. "Well then, take off your clothes; it's time for us to get started." She said, turning to hide her smirk.

"My clothes?"

'Damn.' She thought to herself. 'He questioned it.'

"I've yet to see anyone else Shunpo without any clothes on. Why would that be needed to train?"

"Umm..." Ichigo noted that this was the most he had seen Yoruichi blush so far. "No, t-that was a test to find out if you would obey me in this lesson. You failed!"

It probably wasn't the best way to deal with her embarrassment, Yoruichi was aware, but, nevertheless, she appeared next to Ichigo and the orange haired man was sent flying with a kick to the head from one of the greatest Hakuda practitioners the Gotei 13 had ever seen.


	7. Two on One

**Fine. One more, for some reason I feel like updating again.**

* * *

><p>On the floor of the training grounds, created more than a century prior by Kisuke Ukitake for himself and his long-time friend and comrade Yoruichi Shihoin, Ichigo Kurosaki lay, groaning.<p>

'Gods... She's evil.' He thought to himself, as he sat up and loked into the delighted face of Yoruichi, otherwise known, to him and his partners, at least, as Naked-san and She-Cat.

"That was excellent, Ichigo!" She exclaimed, proud of her, now stolen from Urahara, Protege. "I've never seen someone able to move so quickly in such a short amount of time. Hell, I could count on my hands the number of people I know, even fully trained, that possess such speed!" She was thrilled to teach Ichigo her specialties; though he was less than happy wth her theory that, if she used Hoho on him, it would help him master both Shunpo and Hakuda that much faster. It appeared to be true, he would admit to himself, but his learning hadcome at the expense of an unfortunate number of bruises. As well as, he would insist, at least one fractured bone.

"Oh, bite me, Yoruichi." Ichigo groaned out, then let out a yelp. "Oh, jeez!" He rubbed his shoulder. "I didn't mean literally." The golden eyed woman gave him a saucy grin.

"You should be more careful in the future, then, Ichigo. After all," She leant in close to the suddenly blushing male. "You taste so _good_." She purred, before continuing with a grin. "Hah! I knew you stll had energy to keep going!" The Human-turned-Shinigami had vanished in a blur of Shunpo.

* * *

><p>"... Understand?" Yoruichi finished her explanation<p>

"Yeah. I think so. Basically these Tenshintai-dolls will take the form of Zangetsu as soon as I stab my swords into them, right?" He got a nod of the affirmative. "And that will allow me to fight them; proving to the Old Man thatI'm strong enough to survive, and to Hichigo that I'll 'have fun' with his Bankai."

"That's the gist of it, yes." The 'goddess' frowned. "But Urahara told me to warn you that-"

The warning she had been about to deliver was cut off as Ichigo drew two of hs blades, one the longest; being a good half-foot longer than the average katana, and the other the size of a Wakiazashi. Each had a pitch black hilt; but the longer had a crimson guard, in the shape of a rounded-corner rectangle, and the shorter a light blue in a proper rectangle. Likewise, the Wakizashi hada sapphire, as opposed to the longer's ruby, coloured Pommel.

"I'm sorry Yoruichi. It's good of you to care, but this has to happen. If you need me to power the dolls, please just let me know."

"That wasn't it,Ichigo. They don't take much energy to keep running, as long as a Zanpakuto will be occupying it. But... why do you feel you need to do this?"

"You mentioned about the boost Shinigami get when they achieve Bankai, right? That won't happen for me until I get all of them." At her confused look, he elaborated. "The Old Man and Nejibana agreed that I might try to force the last one if I got the boost before all my spirits agreed. And, apparently, that could kill me." He had a deadly serious expression, telling her that he was entirely serious. "I beat Zaraki 'cause he was holding back, and I caught him by surprise with my last attack. If I want to rescue Rukia, I need to get that power." He was already strong, but if one of the senior captains came at him now, Ichigo would be in serious touble.

Other than a frown Ichigo didn't know the origin of, Yoruichi seemed to have accepted what he said, and gave a begrudging nod, before Shunpoing away. Ichigo took ahold of the blades' handles once more and, with a sharp yank, both came free. The dolls glowed.

* * *

><p>"Hello, Zangetsu." Ichigo unbuckled the belt-sash holding his Zanpakuto, his final blade added to it in preparation, and placed it softly down on a nearby rock shelf.<p>

"_Ichigo._" The Old Man replied, with a nod.

"**Hey, King.**" The Hollow grinned. "**Ya ready?**"

"I wouldn't be talking to you out here if I wasn't." He ran his hand through his messy hair. "So how are we going to do this?" The Hollow's grin decreased a little, and he shot a glare at his partner spirit.

"**Well; the old man's bein' boring. Apparently, you've gotta prove that you 'know us' before we get to fight.**" He shrugged. "**But I **_**do**_** get to attack while you do that.**"

"_That is right, Ichigo. But first..._" The Old Man waved his hand, and the remarkable power of Zanpakuto was demonstrated. Hundreds of blades, all cleaver-like in shape, appeared across the rocky terrain. It was especially frustrating to Ichigo, because they were the form he had only been told of by the two; a form that they would have appeared as had he not known their actual nature. Apparently, he would have to fight them with the two's powers, for him at least, united.

"And this is meant to be dificult for me?" Ichigo asked. "Please..." He shok his head with a more than a litle bit of frustration. "I would understand this if we were brand new to each other,but I have known you since I WAS A CHILD!" He vanished. The Old Man smirked, ever so slightly, while the Hollow snorted.

"**Told y-**" He was thrown off to the side, a kick having sent the 'man' flying.

"_Good, Ichigo._" The Trench Knife appeared in Zangetsu's left hand, and he turned to face his wielder.

Ichigo looked angry. Something that unnerved even the man opposing him. It was relatively common for Ichigo to grow irritated, or to give a psuedo-angry reaction to mocking, but... angry. That was a scary thought for a man with so many abilities. The majorty of which could, in some way, cause a _lot_ of pain to the Hybrid's adversary.

Resting on Ichigo's shoulder, there was a large Khyber knife, as tall as its wielder at a little over 6ft; though Ichigo himself was not aware that was his height, and with bandages wrapped entirely around, and flowing from, the guardless hilt.

"_You will need, Ichigo, to have true control over our abilities. I you do not, you will have to give up this mission of yours, and return to safety._"

"I know. Shall we begin?" He received no response from the Old Man, but this was enough to tell him that the spirit was ready. On the other hand, Hichigo appeared next to his temporary partner with a loud exclamation.

"**Bastard! That was a hard kick, King**!" The pale version of Ichigon was holding his own Khyber blade, though this was the one that possessed the hole from the base to the middle of its length. Despite his claims of the kick being strong, Hichigo had his ever-present grin still firmly plastered on his face. "**But, as you said, let's get ready to ruuumble! Haha! Let's go!**" The Hollow charged his wielder with a face-splitting grin.

* * *

><p>Ichigo was realising something. These two, well, one of them at least, had a reason for requiring that they do this out in the real world. While Hichigo no doubt just wanted to fight, The Old Man must have realised that training, and by that he meant fighting, out here was far more productive than it would be in his inner world.<p>

It was exhausting, fending off the attacks of two masterful combatants, but very useful. While he could feel his energy depleting with every bout, it would come back, startlingly quickly, with noticeably more.

As Ichigo was coming to this realisation himself, another had long since noted the rise in his power. She hadn't expected this; Kisuke had told Yoruichi that there would be a slow, steady growth.

_Slow_ was not an adjective she would use to describe this... _this_. The idea of fighting two Zanpakuto... it was laughable, she didn't know why she agreed to letting him do it; just that he assured her that he couldn't survive this trip if he didn't get past this, _very _large, hurdle.

And yet, he was holding his own.

No, not holding his own. Ichigo Kurosaki was _winning_.

It may not be obvious, and Yoruichi sincerely doubted that Ichigo himself realised it, but he was achieving near hits at least as often as _both _of his opponents combined. To him, it kmust seem like he was on the defensive as often as he was the aggressor, but the idea of that was extremely impressive in itself. The two spirits were highly skilled, after all.

* * *

><p>"Rah!" Ichigo exclaimed, shoving the back of his Khyber to break the Hollow and his' stalemate. The bleached man stumbled back a few feet, grin faltering, and found a cleaver-blade whistling toward his shoulder. Only for the Orange haired man's blade to be stopped, mid swing, by a Trench knife Zanpakuto.<p>

Ichigo ducked under a right hook form the, even now, composed Old Man, and ersponded in kind, swinging in an uppercut that narrowly missed Zangetsu's jaw.

With a growl of frustration, Ichigo vanished with a light buzz, and appeared mid swing behind the black-wearing Zanpakuto spirit.

"Damn." He snarled, before smirking slightly. "I almost got you that time, Old Man." The Hollow had shoved Zangetsu out of the way, and his not-quite-as-big blade was now blocking Ichigo's.

Ichigo really was surprised, to say the least. These two were usually at each others throats, but here they were working in perfect sync. Though, to be fair, they both were naturally parts of the same being; him.

Wait a minute, if that was the case then-

He was cut off by a pair of blades cutting towards him; one on each side of his head.

* * *

><p>Yoruichi was perched on a ledge above the fighting trio, having a mental debate with herself. Should she stop him here for the night? Day one was, after all, over. Ichigo could probably use some rest, and then to sontinue in the morning. The only thing was; neither he, nor the two he was fighting, gave any sign of slowing any time soon. Unsurprising; Ichigo had trained, under Urahara, for 10 days straight with next to no sleep, and this time he had had a nap before they began. The were-cat gritted her teeth with annoyance; she was looking forward to teasing her charge some more in the hot springs. The dark-skinned beauty let out an irritated sigh, and decided to wait a while longer.<p>

At least this was quite pleasant to watch; it turns out Ichigo had a habit of destroying his clothes in battle. Even when he himself was unmarked.

* * *

><p>'Fine, so I don't have the best self control in the world. Sue me.' Yoruichi thought to herself, as she silently observed Ichigo pondering the wonders of the Spring water. As the orange haired Hybrid decided to try drinking it, she spoke up.<p>

"How's the water, Ichigo?" The... man, for she did not like calling him a boy, nor did he like being reffered to as such, froze, suddenly very aware of the fact that he was naked.

"Mm-Hm." He gave a vague approving noise in response, which elected a chuckle from the Purple haired soul.

"Oh? Well, Ichigo, you make it sound so _good_, that I think I'll join you."

"Whoa! W-What?! N-No!" Ichigo turned, intending to stop her, and found a half naked Flash-Goddess to greet him. "What the hell are you- Did you just- Pants- Gahh!" He buried his face in his hands, finding this to be the best course of action for him to take, and heard a light splash.

"Oh, loosen up, Ichigo. Don't be such a prude." He could _hear_ the smirk in her tone.

You really can't blame him for peeking. He was a heterosexual, redblooded male after all.

"What? Are you a little dissapointed, Ichigo?" The masculine voice of her cat form questionned, swimming in the water. "You are, aren't you? You pervert." Ichigo grumbled something about drowned cats under his breath, and voiced a question he had had for a while.

"Hey, Yoruichi? I've been wondering for a while; why does this place look so much like Urahara's basement-training ground?" The feline turned to him with a raised eyebrow.

"Hmm? So you caught up on that, did you? We did our best to model his Human-World training ground after this one. Nostalgia, I suppose. You see, we built this one when we were kids," Ichigo let out an impressed whistle; that was quite a feat. "In order to have somewhere secret to play. When we got older, he joined the Gotei 13, and I the Stealth force; but we still came here in order to hone our skills.

"Huh? So you mean you two were-uhh..." He had turned to her, to find the cat had transformed, somehow without him noticing, back into a, naked and glistening, purple skinned goddess. His own sentiments were echoed inside his head.

'**Uhhh...**' The Hollow was too distracted to make even a single comment,

'_Ummm..._' Well, she caught Zangetsu off guard. Quite the feat.

What sounded like a satisfied growl-purr came from Tabigarasu.

And Nejibana remained silent. She had been the only one to see this coming, embarrassingly. Yoruichi obviously enjoyed teasing Ichigo. Nejibana was also the one to keep Ichigo's blood flow from reaching the two areas her wielder would not want it to go. Though she let a little of it go to his cheeks to give him what she considered to be a charming blush. Even if Ichigo simply saw it as a little less embarassing than a full-fledged one.

For over a minute, each second passing by agonizingly slowly, Ichigo and Yoruichi were unmoving, Ichigo unable to tear his gaze away; both because he was frozen and because Hichigo was putting up as much resistence as he could in order to see this site as long as possible, and Yoruichi because... well, she didn't quite know why. But it might have been hinted at with the slow, deliberate movements with which she slid into the spring.

"Right, uh..." Ichigo cleared his throat and found his previous train of thought. "Hat 'n' Clogs was a Soul Reaper? I was wondering... It didn't make sense for him to be human and have a Zanpakuto. And the two of you know so much..." He scowled. "I want to know, Yoruichi, about the guy who trained me. Who is Urahara?"

"He's the former captain of Division 12 of the Gotei 13." She looked her new-found pupil in the eye. "Just the same as I was captain of the Second. On top of that, Kisuke founded the department of Research and Development and served as its first chief..." She smiled slightly at the look of shock on Ichigo's face.

"Wow, I had no idea you were such hotshots... you two make quite the couple." He made what he had thought was a simple statement, but knew he had gone wrong as soon as he observed the look of shock, and then slight anger, for reasons unknown to him, on her face.

"Who said we were a _couple_?" She snarled at the misinformed Human-Shinigami.

'Uhh... Little help, you guys?' He requested.

'_I recommend apologizing, and assuring her that you meant no offense to her with your presumption_.' The Old man advised. A logical suggestion.

'**Squeeze her tits? Please? For me?**' The Hollow spoke up, hopeful. Ichigo _really_ doubted that would help, and so he ignored the _advise._

'No. Ichigo, you should tell her...'

"I am sorry if I caused any offense, Yoruichi. I was certain that one as beautiful as yourself would have long since found and married the man, whomever that man may be, of your dreams. But I now understand that the very notion of you finding love with a mere mortal is laughable; compared to you, their truly is no other who could hope to be so deserving of the title of goddess." Yoruichi's eyes went wide, and she stared at Ichigo in shock. Now, had anyone else tried to flatter her as such, the ex-assassin would have laughed them off with ease, and teased them in return. Ichigo, though? As he said that, there was something in his voice... a complete honesty that _reassured_ her somehow. That told her to believe him. And, if this had been any other time, to put her utmost faith in the strange man before her.

And so, Ichigo got to be the first one in well over a hundred years, perhaps ever, to see Yoruichi Shihoin light up like a lantern.

* * *

><p>"Two days remain..." Yoruichi commented to herself, as she watched the sun rise. "Ichigo's progress... its amazing. I wish I knew just what it took to achieve the release... Urahara said he would need to subjugate the two of them in order to forcibly gain it. But <em>two<em> of them? I don't know if he can do it." Her brow creased into a frown. "We had a 25 day grace peiod when I gathered my information, before Rukia's execution... and we've used up less than I had anticipated. Far less, in fact. But the cleaner distorted the time-line for us, so we now have 8 days left. The only thing is... any training I could do in that time would be largely useless to Ichigo. I know he can beat the Zanpakutos, but how long will it take?" She trailed off, a worried look on her face. "But... I believe Kisuke. He said that Ichigo's abilities were far greater than his own. Even if Ichigo has two enemies to face, I do believe that he will succeed."

* * *

><p>"... tomorrow..." How strange it was that Ichigo only heard that single word. Yet he understood the conversation.<p>

It made no sense, whatsoever for his ears, even if they were sensitive, to be so... selective. And even less for Ichigo's mind, not one of the others, nor one of the mysterious happenings that just... happened?

Renji had arrived mid way through one of Ichigo's clashes. They were too far away even for Spiritually enhanced ears to pich up the conversation between the redhead and Yoruichi; yet he did. Ordinarily, he would have wondered if that was a sign that his power was increasing. Whether he was nearing the completion of _this_.

But he didn't. His partners didn't, either. No, the two Zangetsus were staring, one visibly nervous, the other with the smallest of smirks, at their wielder, as his blade shook. Once more, he vanished.

"Sagh!" Renji said. Or at least, that was the closest Ichigo could come to understanding his noise. The tattood man was now pressed against a rocky wall, a hand wrapped around his throat.

"Did you just say... tomorrow? Tomorrow at noon?" Renji could have sworn the Ryoka's eyes were brown before. "Answer!"

"Ye-Yes." The, possibly ex, Lieutenant gasped out. That was when Rukia was, all of a sudden, set to be executed. The Red haired Shinigami dropped to the ground in a heap, just as he heard a slight _buzz_ that he couldn't place. Had he seen Yoruichi's, it would have been clear that she _could_ place it.

"_**Well then,**_" Ichigo's garbled tone rang through the cabin. "_**We best kick this into high gear**_."

* * *

><p>"Ichigo..." A stunned, former Captain of Squad 2 spoke, voice barely above a whisper. Next to her, an even more amazed Shinigami stared at the orange haired man's heavily bleeding form as he stumbled past them, his walk an uneven gate as he used immense willpower to stay standing.<p>

He'd... Ichigo had _terrified_ her. She was Yoruichi Shihoin; goddess of the Flash, greatest practitioner of Hoho in the history of the Soul Society, and she had been _afraid_. She considered crying, she considered screaming, she considered running to Ichigo and checking his wounds.

Then, she settled on an undignified giggle. Oh, she could not _wait_ until Hiyori met him.

As Ichigo pitched forward, into the Hot Springs, she smirked; they would have time, now, to get _that_ from where she left it. It would be fun. Maybe she'd even get to run into her old Protege. It would be nice to catch up.

* * *

><p>"I still don't see why we need to fly." Ichigo commented, as he and Yoruichi appeared for an instant, stood atop one of the many buildings in the Seireitei. "How high can the execution stand be?" They vanished in a burst of Flash Step again.<p>

"It isn't a matter if height." Yoruichi replied. "It would be fine, normally, to Shunpo to that height. But it is made of the same material that the outer wall is. Sekki Sekki stone disrupts the use of Spiritual powers; we would fail to reach the top without my Tentoken. Plus, unfortunately, at this point in time, it is a unique item. We have to get _mine_, else we won't succeed in your mission."

"Huh. That's a shame. I guess we'll have to be quick, right?" He glanced at the sun, partway through its rise to the peak. "Sorry 'bout sleeping so long, again." He said, sincerely, as they neared their destination. But was unprepared for the snort he got in return.

"I've got to say that I'm amazed you recovered as fast as you did. I would have been fine coming and getting it my self, you know." Ichigo simply shrugged. He might as well come along in case there was trouble. "I mean, seriously. Reitsu deprivation and blood loss are pretty serious. I still can't believe how... _violent_ those two were. Especially the older one; he seemed calm and collected, but he stabbed you right through the chest. You could have died from a wound like that, Ichigo." She said, a concerned expression marring her normally cheerful face.

"I already said, Yoruichi. That was my fault. I didn't want to get Bankai unless I _deserved _it. Defeating them properly convinced me I was." Zangetsu really wasn't to blame.

"Yeah... I still think that-"

"Oh, look. Here we are. That's their symbol, right?" Ichigo pointed at a Pasque flower, and received a nod in return.

"That's right, Ichigo. You stop here. I will signal if I need you to intervene." The goddess of Flash vanished, and Ichigo shrugged, dropping to the ground to sit and wait. She didn't tell him the signal, but hopefully he would be able to tell what, exactly, that was.


	8. Little Bee and her Blob

**Here's a chapter.**

**I own nothing.**

**Hope you all enjoy.**

Hate.

It had been a long time. A _very_ long time, since Shaolin Fon, Captain of the Second Division and the Punishment Forces, and better known as Soi Fon, felt _anything_ with such passion. Not since her idol, the woman who she had looked up to more than any other, and the one person she opened up to, had left. Left without even telling _her, _her supposedly _beloved_ pupil.

Now, though. Her _feelings_ were immense. She would kill the woman in front of her. Then, she could move on to truly do her duty and kill the pathetic Ryoka that had accompanied _her_. Was it only for show, that Yoruichi had told her the boy was a new pupil of hers? Was it just to make Soi Fon lose her ever present composure? To make her show _emotion_?

If that was so, the Traitor would get her wish. She would smile over Yoruichi Shihoin's corpse.

"I am unimpressed. For someone who has spent so many years hidden away, you don't seem to have gotten any stronger... Yoruichi." The pair were in the woods off to the side of Second Division's Headquarters; designed for stealth training in such environments.

"Oh, I assure you _I_ have. _You_ on the other hand. It seems like you've let your skills get dull and rusty." Yoruichi responded, with a smirk. Shaolin ignored the jab.

"So, why is it that you came in search of the Tentokin? Are you meaning to help the Ryoka, Yoruichi? I didn't suspect even _you_ would stoop so low." She shook her head. "Never mind, though..." Soi Fon smirked at her former mentor. Hopefully this would _hurt_. "By now, my Lieutenant will have _dealt_ with him." Admittedly a lie. She had sent Omaeda after the Ryoka, but, if the rumours of him defeating Kenpachi Zaraki were true, the brute would be killed in an instant. Even so, though... two birds, as the living were so fond of saying. "Even so, though... to see such evidence of such corruption in the Shihoin clan... it would be plenty enough for them to fall just as the Shibas. That would be a... _shame_, wouldn't it." The petite captain hissed.

"That would be true, were it not for the fact that _Ichigo-kun's_ status as a Ryoka will be rescinded soon enough." Yoruichi smirked, while Soi Fon fumed. She had never addressed _her_ with such fondness. Just who did this Ryoka think he was? "And about your Lieutenant... I think you should have sent an assassin, not a minor noble who bullied and bribed his way up to such an esteemed position." At the look of disgust on her former pupil's face, Yoruichi's smirk grew in to a full fledged grin.

"That may well be true..." Soi Fon murmured. "So I suppose I should thank you for helping me get rid of such a _pig_. I know," She gave a sinister smirk back to her enemy. "How about I make your _student_'s death quick and... relatively painless once I'm done with you? That should make up for... it..." She trailed off, as she heard what seemed to be a... scream? But why would a scream be getting louder? Getting closer? Was someone coming through the forest?

No. No, it seemed to be coming from above...

Her blob of a lieutenant, complete with his purple scarf and idiotic ornaments that he was allowed to wear, by the Central 46, because of his _position in society_, and because he believed that it 'made him look noble'. No matter the fact that the ugly jewellery _jangled_ as he walked, and purple was far from a camoflagable colour. It was a disgusting fact that he was 'entitled' to be Lieutenant of the _stealth force_ when she would bet even Zaraki had a better chance of taking an enemy by surprise.

The blob of a Lieutenant smashed into the ground with a very loud _crash_, and Soi Fon could swear that she saw the shock on his face, distorted by the ripples of fat. So the moron was taken off guard, on top of his plentiful failings? At this point, she'd rather have the Ryoka as a Lieutenant than this pig.

'Would it be too much to wish for him to die from his fall?' She wondered to herself, hopeful.

Half a second later, however, Soi Fon learned that, while her Lieutenant was about a subtle as a fat bull in a china shop, his opponent was not.

Well, not at the minute, anyway. But, hey, at least when he _was_ charging straight ahead, he had the power to back it up!

An unbelievable amount of Reiatsu appeared, in an instant, right behind the Stealth Force commander. She had, granted, felt a more overwhelming amount in Kenpachi, but for it to have been hidden so perfectly... she would not have believed it if she could not plainly feel the end result. A small blade; a Tanto, if she were to guess, was pressed under her chin; against her throat, and a strong hand was clamped on her shoulder, keeping her still.

"Well," A male's voice began, sounding slightly amused. "That's much more difficult now, I've gotta say. At some point I'll need to learn how you all manage to supress your Reiatsu so effectively." He directed the comment at her opponent, while Soi Fon remained shocked. She prided herself on her ability to never be taken by surprise. Yet... he'd... "Oi, Yoruichi, is this Captain Soi Fon, then?"

"That's right Ichigo." The Purple haired goddess smirked at Shaolin. "Do you see why I'm so proud of him now, Soi Fon?" And then, the ever cold and calculating captain just dumbly nodded her confirmation. "Hey, Ichigo, I think you might have broken her." Yoruichi commented, amused at her new pupil's success. Her eyes, then, narrowed at the blade being held by Ichigo. "Is that Tabigarasu, then?" She had yet to see it's sealed form, after all.

The weapon, around the size of a Tanto, was far plainer than was usual in a Zanpakuto. The bade itself was a dark grey, that glinted slightly; hinting at the wicked sharp edges. It was entirely straight, and double edged, the width about that of three of its wielder's fingers, and the length no more than seven inches. There was not a guard on the Tanto, the blade just curved down a little, the underside lacking the sharpness to damage Ichigo's fingers. The hilt rested comfortably in Ichigo's hand, but had no features to mark it as particularly pretty, just a ring-pommel that could be considered a little decorative. This blade was not made to be showy. Just to kill. Like its spirit form.

"Why..." Soi Fon whispered, bringing the attention of the two firmly on to her. "Why am I not dead yet?" He had a blade pressed to her throat, had her defenceless. Why hadn't he killed her?

"Eh?" Ichigo asked, surprised. "Why would I kill you? I was just trying to see what was going on here. And whether Yoruichi wanted any help?" The last was directed to Yoruichi, who shook her head.

"No, Ichigo. This is just two friends catching up; you can leave us be." She smiled at the man. "Although," She continued with a smirk. "I would ask that you take the trash you brought along with you when you leave."

"It was a good distraction, wasn't it?!" Ichigo defended, as he looked at the girl he was still holding. "Oi, if I let her go, is she going to stab me in the back?"

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here." Soi Fon hissed.

"I'm not. I just don't trust you enough to ask you directly. If you say no, I reckon you'd still be perfectly happy to slit my throat as soon as I'm defenceless." It wasn't meant as an insult. Just a statement of facts. Soi Fon was an assassin first and foremost, after all.

"Hmm, a good point well made, Ichigo." The Flash Goddess smirked at him. "Okay, then, I'll dump him back in the Barracks; you hold on to my Little Bee for a little while." She vanished suddenly.

"Little Bee..." Ichigo repeated. What did that mean? He didn't have a bee. "Oh. Is that you?" He asked the seething girl he was holding in place.

"Yes..." She growled out. What right did she have to use that nickname? If this Ryoka-boy mocked her for this, she _would_ kill him.

"Huh... Do you mind telling me why she calls you that? It'll bug me otherwise."

"_Bug _you?" The, currently very irrational, mind of Soi Fon instantly assumed that that phrase, wholly unintentional on the part of Ichigo, was meant to poke fun at her. And thus, her next action was explained.

Soi Fon, as much as she was able while her movements were being constricted by the stronger Ryoka, threw herself backwards, swinging her head back along with the momentum she gained. Her skull, with a _crunch_ that was satisfying to her own ears, smashed against her captor's nose, breaking it with gusto and electing a pained grunt.

"Shit!" Ichigo cursed, as blood poured from his nose. "That was mean, _Little Bee_." He said, slightly vindictive as he resisted the urge to bring a hand up to his painful nose. The Human-Shinigami was rewarded with a growl of frustration as Soi Fon's plan to get him to release her was unsuccessful, and he readjusted his grip to have his left arm wrapped around both shoulders, keeping her still in a far more effective manner. This, however had the unfortunate, in a way, side effect of pressing her against him, and making the, generally prude-ish, Hybrid uncomfortable.

Soi Fon, too, noticed the proximity they now shared, and was well aware of the fact that _nobody_ got this close to her. Who did this Ryoka think he was? Because she _did not_ like the feel of Ichigo pressed against her. Just the same as Ichigo _certainly_ didn't enjoy having Soi Fon's lean and firm, that being more noticeable in _certain areas_ than others, build pressed against his front.

"I wasn't trying to make fun of you, by the way. I just didn't see any resemblance between you and a bee." He winced a little as the blood-flow stopped from his broken nose. "Though now I guess it might be 'cause you've got a fierce sting." Then, he became conscious of an obvious fact. "Hmm... I wonder why Yoruichi's taking so long. She should have gotten rid of the fat guy by now..." He trailed off, before directing a question at Soi Fon again.

"Hey, why's he your Lieutenant? If you don't mind my asking." He asked, confusion evident. "I mean, I managed to catch you off guard, but it's pretty obvious you're plenty capable; even by Captain standards." That was a roundabout way of complimenting her. "So why on earth would you have such a pathetic Lieutenant?" He received a grumble in reply. "Huh? I didn't hear that."

"He's from a noble family!" She retorted, annoyed. "I don't want him as a Lieutenant! He has no stealth whatsoever, for Kami's sake! But the only criterea for a Lieutenant is having achieved Shikai. I was stuck with him because I was the only one, at the time, who didn't have the spot filled." She explained to the man. "Believe me, I've considered offing him myself more times than I care to count, but that would just get me in trouble with the Central 46."

"Oh. That makes sense, then." She felt him move slightly, nodding.

"I'm called 'Little Bee' by Yoruichi," She refrained from using the title that was still instinctual for her to refer to her ex-mentor by. "Because of the shape of my Zanpakuto in Shikai form. If you wish, I can show you..."

"Ah. I'd like to see it, but I'm not just gonna let you go and attack me with it willy nilly. Hopefully I'll see it some day when I wouldn't be on the receiving end." Ichigo chuckled. "Oh. It looks like our time's up, Captain Soi Fon of the Second Division." He commented. "It's been nice talking to you."

The arm vanished from around her shoulders, and Shaolin stumbled back a little as the body she had been leaning into vanished.

"What the- Yoruichi." She growled, realising what Kurosaki's Reiatsu had been hiding from her keen senses. Her opponent had returned, and was now across from her, a tall, orange haired man with a small blade in his hand and three strapped at his waist stood next to her. What was that she was offering him? The Tentokin!

"So that's where you went, eh Yoruichi?" Ichigo asked, realising why the dark skinned Flasher had taken so long.

"Hai. It took a little while to get into the safe." She looked at Ichigo and smirked. "I was going to say 'I hope you had no problems' but by that," She pointed at the drying blood on the lower half of his face. "I can see that you did."

"Eh." Ichigo wiped the blood away, shrugging. "I've had worse." The Purple haired woman chuckled.

"You can say that again."

"Hmm." He _had_ been in a bad way after his Bankai training. "So, did you want me out of your hair or something?"

"No, not particularly. I'd be happy for you to watch, but I figured; while I was there, I might as well fetch this. We'll need it quite soon. The clock said it was half past 10. The execution's scheduled for Midday, after all."

"Got it," Ichigo took the offered cape, and continued. "I'll be over there if you need me." He pointed off to the left, and vanished.

"Well then, Little Bee... Shall we get started?"

-()-()-()-

Ichigo sat, perched on a thick branch of a tree and watched the high speed fight with interest. It was really different to his fights in the Soul Society. His seemed to consist of fighting with brute force; him and his opponent just charging at each other in an effort to overwhelm. To be honest, he kind of thought that was what Soul Reaper fights consisted of.

It was a good job he hadn't met Soi Fon on his journey so far; else he'd no doubt be dead.

These two... not a single movement was wasted, and each strike took place faster than the majority of Shinigami would be able to follow. And that Shikai... that was deadly, for sure.

But what was up with Yoruichi?

Granted, he hadn't know the Goddess of Flash for all that long, but he was sure she had more pride than to _run_. And if she did, why wouldn't she call on him to help her?

Ichigo let out an annoyed as the petite girl chased the busty woman around in circles, before noticing that the two's path seemed to be straightening out. He stood up and blurred after them.

-()-()-()-()-

The two combatants ignored the fact that their observer had followed them, and was now, suddenly, stood on the branches of one of the highest visible trees, leant against the trunk in a far too nonchalant manner for someone watching a potentially to-the-death fight.

Ichigo was impressed by whatever it was Soi Fon had decided to do. He certainly hadn't seen or felt anything of the sort. Nor did he imagine himself to be capable of it. Even though he had a couple of techniques he, and a mentally smirking Hichigo, considered to be more effective, the idea of, what he believed to be, a combination of Kido and Hakuda was very interesting. A mix of Close and Ranged combat.

'Wow. Wasn't expecting that.' He thought to himself, as he watched his 'teacher' demonstrate the same ability; perhaps in an even more effective form, and the two created a load of devastation on the ground below.

The current Captain's anger seemed to be changing into frustration as she screamed something at the woman who betrayed her; having expected to have surpassed her mentor by now.

'_And yet,_' Zangetsu observed. '_She does not release her Bankai._'

'Good point, Old Man.' Ichigo replied. 'I wonder why that is...'

Her form was getting... well, not sloppy, but sloppier than it had been before; her anger making her too hasty. The pair appeared in the air, not too far from Ichigo himself, and they glowed a brilliant white; the Shunko being stronger than they had used yet. In fact... it almost looked like it was going to explo-

"Holy Shit!" Ichigo exclamied, vanishing as a wave of Spiritual pressure enveloped, and eradicated, the tree he had been stood on. "_That_ would have hurt." He had appeared on the ground below, not noticing that the pair had also chosen this spot to land.

"Tell me why... Yoruichi." A voice begged, and Ichigo spun on the spot.

"Why did you leave me?! I would have gone anywhere for you..." Tears streamed down the black haired Shinigami's face. And Hichigo decided this would be an appropriate time for him to make a comment.

'**Boy, you sure know how to pick 'em, King. You must have some kind of lesbo magnet.**'

'Shut up, Hollow.' Nejibana commented. 'Just because you have no genuine emotions, doesn't mean that displaying them towards one of your own gender makes one a homosexual. This is an emotional moment, and Ichigo-sama does not need your moronic commentary ruining it for him.'

The usually cold girl fell to the ground, sobbing pathetically, and Ichigo stepped forwards one; his instinct to comfort an upset woman, drilled into him throughout his childhood by Goat-Chin coming to the surface.

He was stopped in his tracks, however, by a shake of Yoruichi's head. The woman mouthed the words '_Give her space_' to him, and gave a small, sad smile. Ichigo, scowl in place, nodded once, and looked into the sky.

An hour.

* * *

><p>On the top of the Sokyoku hill, the area in which Rukia Kuchiki was scheduled to be executed, the top officers of the Gotei 13, or some of them, at least, were gathered, as a half dozen of their forces' number walked past, surrounding the criminal in question.<p>

The Captain of 1st Division, also known as the Captain-Commander; Genryusai Yamamoto, was stood closest, out of all present, to the execution stand and the massive Halberd stood next to it. A grey haired man, wearing a white coat over traditional Shinigami garb stood behind him, to his left.

Next along the line, there was a short woman, with black hair tied in to two extremely long braids, with her Zanpakuto sheathed horizontally behind her back. Next to her, a large, overweight Soul Reaper was stood; highlighting her small stature.

Third, Fourth and Fifth divisions were, for various reasons, absent.

There was, however, the grey haired, though not through age, Lieutenant of Squad 4; Isane Kotetsu. For some reason, her Captain was not present.

Sixth Division captain, Byakuya Kuchiki; an effeminate man, with long, ornamented hair was walking towards the gathering, running late for reasons known only to him. One would hope, however, that he was having difficulty with the fact that his sister was to be executed today. Yet, as he walked past, he did not spare her a glance.

Seventh was missing.

Squad 8 Captain, Shunsui Kyoraku, was next in line, wearing his ever present pink kimono and straw hat. His Lieutenant, Nanao, was stood to the easy-going man's side.

Ninth was missing. So where Tenth and Eleventh.

The clown-makeup wearing Captain of Squad 12, and his stoic creation-Lieutenant were stood on the end furthest from the First Division.

Squad 13, unsurprisingly, was missing. Ukitake would hate to see this.

"Rukia Kuchicki!" A booming voice rang across the rocky hilltop. "Today is the day that your sentence is to be carried out. Do you have any last words before your execution?"

If one was to listen carefully, as well as know him well, you may notice the slightest hint of sympathy in the tone of the aged Soul Reaper. But, the only one who knew him that well present was Shunsui. And the captain of Squad 8 did not often pay that much attention to the happenings around him. Not until it was entirely necessary, at least.

"Just one..." A sad, tired tone came from the prisoner. One that told everyone present that she had given up.

'Foolish girl.' Even in his own head, Yamamoto's tone was rather intimidating. 'She aught to have faith in her friend. I expect we will be seeing young Kurosaki soon, after all.' The smirk was invisible beneath the mighty beard Genryusai sported.

"Please... forgive Ichigo. Send him back to the living world, he was only trying to help me. Humans have different morals... alien to us, but he was only doing what he thought to be right." After a moment of silence, the Head-Captain spoke in response.

"Agreed. After your sentence has been carried out, the Ryoka will be sent back to the Living World, unharmed."

"Thank you, Captain-Commander, sir." Rukia said, with a small smile on her face.

"How very cruel it is... to make such a promise when he has no intent to keep it." Isane murmured, only to have a response from her, previously missing, captain.

"It is not cruelty, Isane... It is kindness, now Rukia can die a peaceful death. Knowing that her friend will not die alongside her."

'You know me well, Retsu.' Yamamoto thought to himself. 'Were this any other time, I would have spoken for that very reason.' The man had heard clearly what they said. He turned to the masked men and spoke.

"Release the Sokyoku. Undo the Seal." He ordered them, and the men, in synchronisation, began a complex movement of their hands.

The ropes previously wrapped around the body of the Sokyoku; the massive Halberd, began to unwind. Blue Reiatsu flared around the weapon, and rocketed into the sky. Across the Seireitei, people looked to the eye-catching phenomenon, as the ropes solidified and shot, like spears, into the ground below the Sokyoku Hill.

Rukia Kuchiki watched, peaceful, as each Captain dipped their head ever so slightly in anticipation.

Her hands, having been tied behind her, broke free of the rope bindings, and lifted to her sides, now parralel to the ground below. Three cubes, each pure white, hovered in front of her. Two floated in front of her hands; and prepared to lift her. The other floated next to her ankles, and the three worked in unison, carrying the small Shinigami up into the air slowly; stopping only once she had reached the stand. Now, she floated as though pinned to a crucifix, but with an expression of acceptance as she awaited the beginning of her end.

"Come now, Nanao-Chan. Don't go getting emotional on me." Kyoraku said softly to his Lieutenant. "Else I'm likely to break down too." The Lieutenant had been gazing sadly at Rukia, but now sighed and dipped her head to face the ground.

"Yes sir. But it was not sadness I felt. You needn't worry."

-()-()-()-()-

No more than 5 minutes later, there were a range of emotions on those present; from sympathy, to worry, to what seemed to be glee from one, more than slightly psychotic, captain.

Rukia Kuchiki was staring, through squinted eyes to reduce the light, into the face of an incredibly large, and very, _very_ hot Phoenix that was floating in front of her, beak reared back, preparing to kill.

She was okay with that.

It was said that death by Sokyoku was so quick... instantaneous, in fact, that the prisoner felt nothing. And so, she was not afraid.

No, Rukia was glad. Glad that the Head-Captain had made his promise. That she knew that Ichigo; the fool that had followed her to her doom, and her... friend. That Ichigo would live to see the others again. She could not forgive herself if she robbed Yuzu and Karin of the brother they thought the world of.

'I am not afraid... I... I have lived a good life. To be blessed with the friendship of Renji and all the others. By Nii-sama's adoption... To be guided by Kaien. And finally... by Ichigo, and his insistence on trying to rescue me. I am glad. I can die knowing I have no regrets... I am at peace. My heart leaves nothing behind.' The girl gave a smile, even as tears ran down her cheeks, turning to steam even as they did.

"Thank you..." She sighed, and her eyes closed. "Farewell..."

-()-()-()-()-

"Stupid girl."

Rukia's eyes snapped open, and found herself looking at... at what? A man floated, between her and the released Sokyoku, with his head and face obscured. Held behind his back, there was a very large Khyber knife, with bandages wrapped around the guard-less hilt. Light shone through a hole running from the base of the blade to the middle of its length, and cast the man's face in to even deeper shadows.

"I distinctly remember giving you and order to _never_ die alone." She could hear a smirk in his voice.

"K-Kaien?" She was shocked. Of course she was shocked. Her mentor. The mentor that she had _killed_ had apparently returned from the dead.

"Eh. Something like that." His hand moved to the waist of his cloak, and he moved it away from the blades underneath. Rukia's eyes widened further as she spotted the familiar katana; a dark blue hilt with a rectangular guard, only with smooth round edges.

"Nejibana..." The Kuchiki girl whispered, amazed. Or at least, she _thought_ that was amazement. When her mysterious saviour raised his hand to the hood, and swept it off; displaying messy orange hair, the poor girl fainted.

"Oi, Rukia?" Ichigo asked. "Hey, you o..." The Ryoka trailed off, as the pressure on Zangetsu was removed and he felt... something.

What the hell did he feel?

His body moved. His hand relaxed, and Hichigo vanished, though where it went was something the observers would not know for quite a while yet.

'What are you doing?' He asked his silent partner, and got no response.

'Guys? What's going on?'

'_We don't know, Ichigo. This is Tabigarasu's doing, and he rarely shares his motivation with us..._' Zangetsu confirmed that they, too, had no idea what was going on.

This wasn't right. Sure, he possessed the capability to temporarily take the driver's seat, like the others did, but Tabigarasu had never shown the slightest desire to do so. But, like The Old Man said, none of them really understood Ichigo's final Zanpakuto. Ichigo was able to, usually, understand Tabigarasu simply because the Gauntlet-Shikai'd spirit was a part of him, but it was a daunting task to get inside the head of a creature so different to oneself.

In mid air, Ichigo Kurosaki's body, torn from his control, turned around to face the monstrous sized fire-bird. Kikoo.

'Why did I call it Kikoo?' Ichigo asked, voice strained as he fought for control of his body. He was slowly, too slowly, prying control away from Tabigarasu as his eyes locked on those of the... creature in front of him.

The giant Zanpakuto, for something _strange_ told Ichigo that is what the avian was, let out a cry. A strange sound for it to make. Not that of anger, as you would expect from a weapon of execution, nor one of sadness, as would come from one imprisoned for countless centuries.

Instead, it was one of joy.

The joy of siblings reunited.

Kikoo, as it stared into the, now glowing crimson, eyes of Ichigo Kurosaki, let out an... excited trill. Ichigo felt his mouth move, and a strained voice, as though the speaker did not quite know _how_ to speak, wheezed out.

"Sis...ter..."

The bird lunged forward, piercing the chest of Ichigo Kurosaki.

A scream tore through the air, and the Ryoka's body fell.

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><p><strong>One last thing that doesn't actually concern Savage; I'm still writing Feral and Purgatory (My HP and PJO fanfics) but writers' block can be a right Bitch, and so I'm having a lot of difficulty with the next chapter for each. At the very latest, I'll post one of each on Friday. Hopefully it'll be Wednesday.<strong>

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	9. Aaah!

**Hello again. Here's another chapter of Savage.**

**Hope you all enjoy it.**

**Please Follow/Favourite/Review.**

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><p>The stereotypical waking up of a hangover.<p>

Not what Ichigo had expected to do mid way through the day of Rukia's execution.

The world before the Human-turned-Shinigami blurred, spun and throbbed all at once, even while he was sprawled out, flat on his back on what felt like concrete...

Weird, he hadn't seen any urban areas in the Soul Society so far. Why was it different now? And why did he hear a... rumble? That was strange, for sure. It almost sounded like an...

"EARTHQUAKE!" He shot to his feet, planning to alert anyone he could find; the practise he had been taught while at school. Getting the little kids to safety was of utmost importance.

Well, that had been the plan. As it turns out, Ichigo just fell back down, this time landing on his face instead of his back.

That was a lot more uncomfortable, and so he let out a pained groan that was, apparently, well received.

A... _tinkling_, for lack of a better word, reached the 'hungover' man, and Ichigo flopped over to try to locate the source of the noise. He found it soon enough, and was unsure of just how he should react to such a sight.

A beautiful girl, and he couldn't help but notice how rare it was for him to meet ugly ones, looked down at him curiously. And by looked down, he meant that she was suddenly bent over so that her face was, perhaps, 2 inches from Ichigo's face.

"Bahh!" Ichigo yelled, shocked.

"Eeee!" The mystery woman responded; not moving her face so much as a millimeter away.

"What the..." Ichigo muttered, as the strange girl _coo_ed and bent further, nuzzling Ichigo's face with her own. As the woman finished... whatever she was doing, Ichigo noted a more worrying fact than the girl's behaviour. Though only by a narrow margin.

Her head was on fire.

No, wait. Her _hair_ was on fire.

Or was her hair just fire?

Yes, he was going to settle on her hair consisting of fire. For some reason, he didn't freak out as much as he should have done. Ichigo just shot to his feet, forgetting his killer headache in an instant, and patted his head, followed by his torso, checking for burns.

Truth be told, he wasn't even that shocked when he didn't find any. The girl appeared as though she should have, at the very least, third degree burns on her scalp, but seemed happy.

He turned to the hot-looking, in more ways than one, girl, with his hands still positioned on the back of his head where he had most recently checked for the injuries, and found the girl there, standing with her hands placed on the back of her head.

Ichigo removed his own, and she followed.

He raised his right hand, and she raised her's. His left, and she copied. He tilted his head to the side, in a show of confusion, and she did the same.

"Who are you?"

_Chirp_.

"You're... chirp?"

She shook her head, and tilted it to the side, before raising her arms from their position at her sides, and beginning to... flap them.

"You're... a bird?" She nodded enthusiastically, and pointed at her flaming hair. "A bird... fire... Oh! Are you saying that you're the... Sokyoku?" She gave a grumpy-sounding huff. "Okay, not the Sokyoku... are you Kikoo?" She smiled happily and gave a pleased _chirp_. "Okay, then..." Ichigo looked around, and found he instantly recognised his, slightly destroyed, as though an earthquake had struck it, inner world. "Do you know why you're in my inner world, Kikoo?" She gave another happy nod. "Do you know where one of the others is?" _Chirp_ and she skipped away. Ichigo assumed he was meant to follow her. So he did.

"Ah." Ichigo commented, as they reached another of his Inner World's residents. "Hi, Tabigarasu. Sorry, I kind of meant one of the others that can explain how Kikoo has come to be in my mindscape."

Truth be told, Ichigo was a little afraid of Tabigarasu. He stood around as tall as Old Man Zangetsu; so Ichigo was looking him in the chin when they were stood toe to toe. Furthermore, he wasn't human. He was... hell, Ichigo didn't know what he was. He appeared to be a... shadow, or something. Just an indistinct, human-shaped, mass of darkness with disturbing, blood red eyes.

He nodded slowly, understanding, before raising his hand and making a beckoning, 'follow me' gesture and turned tail. Kikoo hung back, and began walking besides Ichigo, chatterring excitedly, despite the fact that Ichigo couldn't actually understand what she said. Even so, Ichigo enjoyed the happiness she seemed to transfer to him, as her wide smile never dropped off her face.

-()-()-()-()-()-

"_Hmm?... Okay... Got it... Right... Okay, thank you, Kikoo._" Zangetsu could understand her apparently; because he was a Zanpakuto himself. He turned to his wielder with a slight frown. "_Okay, Ichigo. I can explain it in detail, or just a summary, if you would rather. I would recommend being quick about this though. Time passes at a slower rate in here, as you know, but you are running out of time outside._"

"Okay. Just summarise it." Ichigo had sat on the ground, with Kikoo sat next to him, Zangetsu across from him, and Tabigarasu... oh, apparently he had left for somewhere.

"_Kikoo is Tabigarasu's sister, apparently. While he had never told us, we have long suspected that he had more to his story. It was, in simplified terms, that there used to be an old method of execution... they would strip the soul away, in order to prevent reincarnation. Tabigarasu, and Kikoo where the Zanpakuto of the only two Soul Reapers to be killed in that manner. Tabigarasu vanished into the Human World, as he was a, for lack of a better word, _free_ Zanpakuto. It sounds like he had an... unpleasant time. Kikoo, they were prepared for and, somehow, they captured her. That is how she became 'the Sokyoku'._" The girl next to him was sombrer than she had been so far. Ichigo didn't like that, and wrapped an arm around her; a smile came back to her face, and was directed at her newfound wielder. _"Now, she's here. And... well, you've got another partner, Ichigo._"

"And I'm glad." Ichigo said, with a grin at the flaming haired girl. Orange-Yellow eyes met brown as her relief, evidently she had been worried about his reaction to her needing him to wield her.

Honestly, though, what would the be the downside? Ichigo couldn't think of one, but couldn't help but worry about whether he was tempting fate.

-()-()-()-()-

'Hmm.' Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto thought to himself. 'I didn't expect this...' The Ryoka, Ichigo Kurosaki, crashed into the ground, bringing up a cloud of dust, at the bottom of the execution stand, just as Jushiro Ukitake arrived in a blur of Shunpo. For some, strange reason, he was holding a large, noble family's shield, with a cord attatched that seemed to have two sword-sized slots. It must have been from the Shihoin clan, since Yamamoto knew the symbol well.

Granted, he had been, for lack of a better word, cheering on Kurosaki Ichigo since the invasion started, but the idea that two of his captains, for surely Shunsui was assisting his friend, had been on the side of the Ryoka rubbed Genryusai the wrong way.

"I'm afraid you're too late, Jushiro." The 8th division captain said, calmly, to his friend.

"What? You mean Rukia..." His gaze snapped up to the stand. "No. No, Rukia seems fine... but where... Where is the Sokyoku, Shunsui?" His tone conveyed the sickly captain's confusion.

"It seems the Ryoka beat you to it, old friend." He nodded towards the unconscious stranger.

"He... How?" The white haired man gasped, not understanding in the slightest what was meant by that statement. Ukitake was under the impression the Shihoin Shield was the only thing capable of such a thing.

"Not a clue." The woman's-coat-wearing Captain returned his gaze to the spot at the bottom. "Perhaps... we aught to ask him." The boy was no longer there; but it was rather clear where he would have gone. So, Kyoraku tilted his head up in time to see a burst of water spray Rukia Kuchiki in the face, waking her up quickly.

"Bah! What the hell, Baka?!" The 'midget' gasped, as she was woken in a less-than-enjoyable manner.

"What?" Ichigo retorted. "It's your fault for choosing such a dumb time to fall asleep." The trident vanished, to be replaced by a large Khyber knife. "Now, hold still, I need to get you free." The flying man flipped over the top of Rukia, and landed on the stand itself.

"W-What are you doing, Ichigo?" She had decided that was the best thing to call him, even if he possessed Nejibana. At that thought, she glanced down at the ground; surely Captain Ukitake had seen the Shikai. Yep, he had. The normally composed man was stood, staring at Ichigo with his mouth agape. After all, if you died the hair black, he would look almost exactly like kaien; _and _he had the Lieutenant's Zanpakuto. She could almost _hear_ her captain wondering if he was seeing a ghost. "Why are you here?!" Apparently the situation had registered with her. "I told you not to come here! I told you I'd never forgive you!"

"Ain't it obvious? I'm going to smash this stand. Besides; I'd rather have you alive and pissed at me than dead and not." He smirked, as he threw Zangetsu into the air, and began to spin it, once more, like a buzzsaw.

"What?! Y-You can't! The stand! It's too strong, you'll kill us both!"

Ichigo ignored the worried exclamation, and carried on.

-()-()-()-()-()-()-

Soi Fon, Captain of the Second Division, was stood, watching with shock only slightly better hidden than the others around her; though the contrast on her ordinarily emotionless face was greater than any of her fellows.

It was almost hilarious, the baffled look on Ukitake; one of the oldest, and best informed, captain's face. Well; it was _almost_ hilarious to Soi Fon. Kyoraku was snickering into his hand; doing a rather poor job of hiding his amusement.

As Ichigo, though she didn't know when she started calling the Ryoka by his given name, was berated by the prisoner, the petite Captain spotted a blue glow from beneath his scowling brow; it was a common indication of a Shinigami focusing their Reiryoku.

'Surely he's not going to-' She was cut off by Ichigo, indeed, catching the cleaver-like blade, tip pointed down, with both hands gripping the bandaged hilt.

Ichigo may have given a grunt, or something of the sort, from the massive burst of Reiatsu he gave off, but it was entirely drowned out by the incredible, concussive force that burst forth from stand, originating at the point into which the orange haired human stabbed his Khyber's tip.

The now openly amazed, small in stature, Captain noted dispassionately that her so-called Lieutenant had been knocked to the ground, while the second-seat officers of the others had been swiftly caught by their captains to prevent the same fate. Even Yamamoto had outstretched his cane and, with ease, supported his, admittedly less than the other Lieutenants, overwhelmed Vice-Captain.

-()-()-()-

"You get real annoying sometimes, Rukia. With your 'You can't do this' and your 'Don't save me'. Don't you ever get tired of being wrong?" A voice came from inside a cloud of dust that had now engulphed the prisoner and her saviour. "That's why I don't listen to you." The dust cleared, showing a tall, orange haired man nonchalauntly carrying the Kuchiki girl.

"I'm not going to say... thank you..."Rukia muttered, tearing up as she dangled from Ichigo's grip.

Down below, the prevalent emotion was one of shock.

"The... Cross..." Isane Kotetsu murmured, amazed at the fact that majority of the joining bar from the stand was simply _gone_.

"H-H-He busted it!" Kotsubaki, the male 3rd seat of Squad 13, exclaimed.

"Wh-What the hell is he?!" Omaeda yelled. Though that tended to be the way he said everything.

The Captains, meanwhile, as well as the other seated officers, remained silent; focused entirely on the man stood atop the stand's remnants.

"Ichigo..." The girl under his left arm began. "I have to ask; what is your plan now? How are we going to escape from... here? There's no clever way for us to vanish in front of so many skilled eyes, and high ranking officers, is there?" She gave a halfhearted gesture downwards towards the Shinigami, as her bloodflow was directed towards her head.

"Make a run for it?" Ichigo suggested, with a shrug.

"Make a- _Make a run for it_?! _That_ is your plan?!" She exclaimed, far louder this time. "We can't get away, you Baka!"

"Eh? Okay, then, I'll beat them all first. Then we won't have anyone to chase us." He looked down at them, judging who the ones he'd been told not to fight outright were. "Or I'll hand you off to Yoruichi and cause a big enough distraction for us al to have long enough to escape."

"You mean you are going to stay behind?! No! No, I refuse!" The girl sreeched at Ichigo. "You can't expect me to just leave you here to die!"

"Who said I expected to die? I'm faster than that lot... in a straight line, at least."

"You can't outrun my brother, Ichigo!"

"First; yes I can. Second; I intend to beat the shit out of your brother before I go. I have a score to settle with him."

"You can't beat him either!"

"Disagree." At this, the noises of a commotion reached them. Ichigo let out a surprised noise. "Hm? What was that?" A heavilly bandaged, red, pineapple haired Shinigami was seen, just having knocked out the last of the Kido corps present. "Oh? You finally got here then, Renji?" Ichigo questioned, calling to the, now down on one knee from pains in his gut, Soul Reaper.

"Renji!" Rukia called subsequently, relieved he had not died.

"Rukia!"

"I'm so glad to see you're alive!"

"I figured you'd show up." Ichigo commented.

"Damn right. If I didn't come, who'd save Rukia?"

"Me, probably." Ichigo smirked, drawing a vein out in Renji's forhead. "But, anyway, get ready."

"What do you mean 'get ready'? W-Wait... Y-You wouldn't..."

Ichigo had lifted the girl, with ease, above his head. Almost in the position to... throw her.

"Oi, Ichigo! W-What are you doing?!" Rukia demanded, as her savior drew back.

"CATCH!"

With a scream, Rukia was thrown down, through the air, towards Renji.

"CRAZY BASTARD!" Renji yelled right back.

Rukia and Renji collided and, bringing up a cloud of dust in his wake, the red haired man dug a trench through the ground behind him.

"YOU CRAZY LUNATIC, ICHIGO!" Rukia screamed at the man who had just thrown her.

"WHAT'D YOU DO IF I'D DROPPED HER, YOU DUMBASS?!" In response, Ichigo's Khyber knife vanished.

"Fuck off." His voice carried.

"WHAT WA-"

"FUCK OFF! Take her and go! Now! That's what you're here for, right? So GO!" He reached a hand up to the brooch, or what seemed to be a brooch, of his cape, and it disconnected, flying into the air and, unknown to those present, being picked up by servants of the Shihoin clan.

As the Red haired man took off at a sprint, ignoring the strain his body felt, and the soft protests of his charge, Soi Fon performed her role rather well... Well, Ichigo thought she was playing the part, but she might have wanted the two she still kind of perceived of as criminals caught. It was her duty, after all.

"What are you waiting for, you imbeciles?!" She roared at her nervous Lieutenant. "All Lieutenants AFTER THEM!"

Recieving confirmation from their own captains, Chojiro Sasakibe and Isane Kotetsu, as well as Marechiyo Omaeda, took off at a run after them. Only to leave Ichigo wondering why they did not use the speed technique virtually all officers were familiar with.

Instead, they allowed Ichigo to intercept them with the same technique. The orange haired man appeared in front of them; arms relaxed at his sides. The trio, and those behind them, got a good look at him now.

The Ryoka was wearing a sleeveless Shihakusho, that was a solid, Jet black. It was slightly form fitting on his upper body, though not enough to constrict, and therefore hinder movement, but was looser on his lower, allowing his legs, as well as his arms from having no sleeves, to move freely. A red sash wrapped around his waist, supporting a katana with a dark blue hilt, and was the only colour, other than his hair, that was obvious to them at this point. Plain black shoes sat on his feet.

What drew their attention, however, was that in the center of his chest, the material was burned away in a perfect circle about 5 inches in diametre, hinting at a muscular chest beneath. Well, that was the second thing. The first was that every inch of his arms, and presumably his covered body, other than his hands and face was covered in bandages. Likely from the hilt of the Khyber they had seen before. Two of the three would have commented on the presumed injuries, had the third not interrupted.

"GET OUTTA THE WAY!" Omaeda roared.

"_Sprint, Itegumo!_" The female Lieutenant present exclaimed, followed by the white haired man, who had yet to speak. The main body of her Zanpakuto thinned and straightened, while two new blades appeared next to it; branching off slightly.

"_Pierce, Gonryomaru!_" His blade turned to a rapier.

"_Crush, Gegetsuburi!_" The fat man's blade turned into an oversized flail, with large spikes sticking from the ball hanging on the end of a long chain.

Which was promptly shattered. The three Vice-Captains were confused.

Why had Gegutsuburi smashed?

That was also where their attention was. And, so, they did not notice the fact that Ichigo was now stood behind the oversized Soul Reaper, his foot raised as he faced the Lieutenant.

Ichigo's leg snapped straight, slamming into Omaeda's back, and sent the heavy Shinigami flying with a _crunch_. He moved faster than he would have been capable of, outside of Flash Step and of his own volition, and sailed towards the fleeing pair, and past them, while screaming profanities due to a mixture of pain and frustration. Mostly pain.

Taking advantage of the Vice-Captains' surprise, Ichigo moved, in a blur, to the First Division's Lieutenant. An open palm of the Ex-Human slammed into the orange skinned Lieutenant's jaw, sending him to the ground; unconscious.

The grey haired Officer had the time, just about, to widen her eyes before man's palm hit her in the gut; knocking the breath from Isane and rendering her unconscious in an instant.

Genryusai was, understandably, surprised. His Lieutenant possessed Bankai, and Isane Kotetsu was no pushover either, yet young Kurosaki had had no difficulty with either of them whatsoever. It was a rare feat to be able to defeat two Lieutenants without so much as the use of one's Zanpakuto. Even some of the captains would be hard pressed to do so without their Shikai.

It really highlighted the difference in the powers of his fellows.

On one level, not to sound arrogant, he would place himself. That much would have been true for anybody that possessed Ryujin Jaka, and Yamamoto very much wished to observe the power of the Sokyoku to know the strength when it was in the possession of a wielder. He knew the origin of his greatest execution tool, and was sure that it had found a new host. That was the only explanation of recent events the Head-Captain could think of.

Next, he would have to say that Shunsui, in the event that he applied himself, was the strongest of his Captains. He outdid Jushiro for the simple reason of the latter's sickness, and Restu was... complicated. He was unsure where to place her on the ranking, but figured it would be below his lazy student.

After that, it became more difficult to decide which of the captains were most capable; potentially coming down to the variety of their skills and how they would fare against one another.

The most obvious example would be Captain Hitsugaya. He had great potential, for sure, but was still too untrained to have mastered his own powers. It was strange that he saw this as more of a problem for Toshiro than Ichigo, but the Human-turned-Shinigami had an incredible growth rate from what the Captain Commander had seen. But to what extent this was true would be revealed soon enough, for sure.

Zaraki, too, was tough to define. He was incredibly strong, but his skillset consisted of very little in comparison to the others of his rank. He was far too reckless in Genryusai's opinion.

Captain Kuchiki was too... stifled. Held back by himself by his strange sense of duty. The Head Captain would expect, from the most senior of his captains, for the decision to execute a family member to be _questioned_ at the very least. Here, Ukitake was rebelling for the sake of one of his Division members.

Soi Fon was similar, her worth was diminished by her inability to look at things in a more detached manner. She was obsessed with fulfilling her duty _solely_ to her superiors. Although... that may be changing, since she had been reunited with the woman who had turned her into such an emotionless killer.

Aizen... Well, he was too secretive for a definitive ranking, but had struck Yamamoto as a strong Shinigami.

Komamura was loyal solely to Genryusai himself, because of the gratitude he felt towards somebody looking past his outward appearance to the man beneath. That may be a god thing, but Yamamoto was well aware that he himself _was_ fallible.

Kaname Tosen was, of course, hindered by his blindness but had long since learned how to get around that using his Spiritual powers. He was powerful, and had a useful Zanpakuto even if Yamamoto could see obvious flaws in it, but had a strange overconfidence in his own perception. He would not take the opinions of others into account when deciding the best course of action. His Bankai, too, was fairly easy to circumvent if you knew its nature. If one simply ran in one particular direction, they'd escaped it soon enough because of its range.

Gin Ichimaru was... different. He made virtually everyone uneasy because of his nature, and Genryusai would rather not have someone like that in such a powerful position. He believed that Gin was, somehow, involved in the slaughtered town that had recently been discovered. Ichimaru was... amoral.

The unease Gin inspired was overshadowed, however, by the final captain. Mayuri Kurotsuchi was a _disturbing_ man. His treatment of his subordinates, especially Nemu, his lieutenant, disturbed virtually everyone. And that was without delving into the... experiments performed by the scientist. Genryusai missed Kisuke Urahara when he was forced to deal with the man's replacement.

As these summaries ran through the aged Captains mind, the events on top of the Sokyoku hill had evolved.

Ichigo Kurosaki spun, while drawing his single visible Zanpakuto, and snapped to attention, his sword held to block an invisible blow. His opponent's speed was shown once more in that moment.

"I've already told you. I see you..." Ichigo began, with a grin resembling that of his Inner Hollow. "Byakuya Kuchiki!"

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><p><strong>Sorry 'bout ending it there.<strong>

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter anyway.**


	10. Byakuya Kuchiki

**Here's another one. The only chapter for about two weeks I'm afraid, since I'm in Florida on holiday for Half-Term and thus away from my computer. I hope you like the chapter, though, and that more people review, follow and favourite than have been so far. I'm probably just spoilt since my other two stories seem to be getting more interest, but the lack on Savage is a little disheartening. This is an action filled chapter, hope you all like that.**

**Again: Please Review/Follow/Favourite**

"I can see you... Byakuya Kuchiki!"

Soi Fon, of the Stealth Force, heard that exclamation. But was not, at this point, paying any particular attention to it. She had sneaked forwards, while the attention of everybody present was elsewhere, and placed a small string of yarn on the shoulder of a certain clown-faced Captain that had been inching forwards towards Ichigo earlier in the events of today. He had clearly had a... hungry look on his face, wanting to examine the intruder. That had... bothered Soi Fon. She knew it would also anger Yoruichi so... why not mark him as their target?

That was why, now, she was stood in close, though not suspiciously so, proximity to him and his Lieutenant, awaiting her ex-mentor's arrival. Soi Fon was sure that it would be soon.

"Nemu?" Kurotsuchi gained his creation's attention, indifferent. "Deal with the traitorous third seats." The Captain kept his attention on the battle that involved his new-found test subject.

"Yes, sir." The robotic girl drew her blade, and appeared behind the unprepared form of Kiyone Kutetsu. In a flash, she had cut her opponent down. Not a killing blow, but plenty to render her incapable of assisting her captain further.

"Kiy-ohh!" Her fellow, Sentaro Kotsubaki, began to call for her, likely to check she was alive, but felt the AI's blade cut into his unprotected back, too.

"Hold it, Kurots-" Ukitake's worried yell was halted, along with his running over to assist his subordinates, by a cane slamming into the ground in front of him. He looked up to find the face of his long-time mentor staring back at him, emotions unreadable.

"Nobody move!" Yamamoto ordered.

"Genryuusai-dono..." Ukitake trailed off.

"The Lieutenant is unimportant! He will be easy to replace, and can be left for later along with the prisoner." He said, convincingly. Yamamoto had predicted that Abarai Renji would mount some sort of attempted rescue. Though, admittedly, not that it would take place at the time of the execution itself. "You two, however, are Captains of the Gotei 13!" He directed at Shunsui and Jushiro. "Your crime of treason _cannot_ be forgiven for even a moment! You know what this means." He readied himself for the coming fight. He would have to battle his 'sons' lest the traitor catch wind. On the upside, this would help the Head-Captain understand the strength of his subordinates better; something he was always in favour of.

"Okay Dokay! No choice, then! Let's g, Jushiro!" Shunsui Kyoraku grabbed his old friend by the shoulder, and they vanished in a flash of Shunpo; soon followed by Nanao and Genryuusai.

Kurotsuchi, left behind, just grunted in reaction to the four vanishing, assuming that he was now alone to observe the upcoming bout between Captain Kuchiki and the Ryoka. That thought was forcefully removed from his head as he sensed a fast moving blip coming towards him, his silent lieutenant, and the Reiatsu-hidden Soi Fon.

Even so, he had not reacted fast enough to avoid the disguised figure of Yoruichi Shihoin as she crashed into him in a blur of Hoho.

At the same time, a foot crashed onto the shoulder of Myuri's creation's shoulder, heel first, and sent Nemu to the ground in a heap. Soi Fon promptly followed Yoruichi's signature, being quite fond of the idea of hurting the disgusting captain and not wanting to miss her shot.

-()-()-()-()-

Byakuya looked pissed... Or at least, Ichigo figured this was what the stone faced noble looked like when angry.

And Ichigo was delighted about that. Right now, he was very, very happy to be able to get under the posh bastard's skin before the fight started. He, in Ichigo's, and all the others, mind deserved it for being such a colossal douche-bag.

'**King, I've gotta say; if you don't let me at least cut him up a little, I'm gonna be **_**real**_** ticked off. I get that the others might wan' a go, too, but this dickwad deserves a **_**lot**_** of pain.** **I mean, I ain't sentimental or any of that shit, but even **_**I**_** know that lettin' your sister get hurt like that is a total dick move.**'

'A good a summary as any. Is it just you that wants to fight?'

'_No, Ichigo. I'm afraid that myself, Tabigarasu and Kikoo all certainly want to be involved in this fight. We imagine it will be the culmination of this... trip._'

'I do too! I can just talk for myself.'

'Great... So, all of you? How do I manage that? I'm not sure this dude's worth using all of you at once, after all.'

'_Hmm?_' The Old Man was silent for a few seconds, having a conversation with the non-verbal spirits. '_Well, Tabigarasu is the easiest to use alongside any of the rest of us. And you would usually dual wield me and Hichigo. It should be plenty doable._'

'… Yeah, I guess you're right.'

'**Ooh! I want you to use my Bankai, too!**' Hichigo added, not wanting to miss the opportunity.

'That really would be overkill.'

'**So?**'

'So, I don't think it's worth wasting the first time I use a Bankai in a fight I could win without. If he surprises me, and manages to force it out of me, I'll use it. If you want, I'll see if I can find another fight after this.'

The Hollow just huffed, and fell silent as he waited for his Shikai, at least, to be used.

Outside of Ichigo's head, the Reiatsu of the two fighters collided, as their blades did the same. Senbonzakura and Nejibana's sealed katanas smashed against each other and the resulting force cratered the ground beneath the Human and Shinigami.

"So you have mastered the Flash Step." Byakuya commented, as the two appeared on opposite sides of the created hole. Ichigo responded with a shrug and a nod. "However-"

"Shut up. I knew you'd act aloof; tryin' to analyse my fighting style, learn my weaknesses and all that. Even if you think you don't need to. But I'll warn ya now. You don't have time to be doin' that. If you don't fight with everythin' you've got... I'll kill ya. Use your Bankai!" The katana, shockingly, vanished before the 6th Squad Captain's eyes in a flash of blue Reiatsu. It was replaced by a small, vicious-looking Tanto-sized-blade.

The Kuchiki head was further shocked by the Ryoka's next actions. Ichigo placed the blade against his left arm, and drew it across his bandaged flesh. Blood poured down the man's forearm and drenched his hand in an instant.

"_Savage, Tabigarasu!_" A clawed gauntlet formed on the Ryoka's left hand, running up to his elbow, and was quickly duplicated on his right. Though there was no visible explanation for his blood reaching the hand with no wound.

Useless bandages fell to the ground.

"I must ask; why is it that you are wearing those bandages? I can't imagine that you would be dumb enough to come to fight me with such... injuries." Byakuya asked, expressionless mask still present.

"Eh? Oh, no I'm not injured whatsoever. You see..." He rubbed the back of his head, a little sheepish. "This woman that's helping me demanded that... since she was the first girl I saw naked, and since I apparently have a tendency to lose my clothes when I'm fighting, she's entitled to see me _like that_ before 'that stuck up Baka', by which I think she meant you."

"And who would this woman be?"

"Yoruichi Shihoin... Ah. I'm guesssing you know her, then." The Captain had had a strange, involuntary tick in his eyebrow.

"She is a... rather irritating woman." He had visibly fought off his instinct to call her something less polite, before focusing back on the matter at hand, and peering at the red gauntlets with a frown. "That is not one of the forms I saw when you were freeing the criminal."

"You mean your sister." He corrected, with a scowl at that fact. "And I realise that this isn't the same, dumbass; they're my Zanpakutos." Two blades, one an abnormally long katana, and the other a Wakizashi, appeared in his right and left hands respectively.

"I see." No, he didn't. "And what is responsible for your own physical changes?"

"Changes? What do you mean?" Ichigo asked, an eyebrow raised.

"You have aged." Byakuya pointed out. It was a rather obvious change.

"I've aged? What do you mean?"

"I _mean_ you look older. Are you being deliberately stupid?" He received a scowl in response, and Ichigo directed a question into his inner world.

'_Apologies, Ichigo. I thought we had discussed this. Being in a Reiatsu-rich environment meant that the time spent in your inner world with us affected you. Don't worry, you didn't age the number of years you would have done with that length of time in the real world. In fact, it has been beneficial to you; your spirit form has only aged a few years, and this means that you are closer to your peak age at the moment. Around... 18? 19? I am not sure of the exact amount of time._'

'Right... anything else you need to tell me about this?'

'_Do you know that your spirit form will age at the rate of a Shinigami?_'

'No...'

'_Ah. Well, it will. So you don't have to worry about your lifespan being shortened by that ageing._'

'Fine. But please _try_ to tell me stuff like this in the future. I'd rather not have to find out from my enemies. Although, to be fair, I think Yoruichi mentioned something about it in passing. But it must have been one of the times where she wasn't fully dressed, so I wasn't paying all that much attention.'

'**Get back to the fight, Kingy! This shit's boring!**'

"Eh. Something about being in a Reiatsu-rich world." Ichigo shrugged, as he readied the two blades, each held well clear of his body for their expansion. "_Come Forth, and Pierce the Sky, Zangetsu!_"

A flash of blue light covered Ichigo's form, and the two blades changed. Byakuya couldn't quite comprehend what had just happened. Did this Ryoka somehow have... more than one Zanpakuto? This was even more abnormal than Captain Kyoraku and his two sealed blades.

These two, combined with the crimson gauntlets on the orange haired man's forearms, made for an admittedly... intimidating sight. But, even so, the Ryoka boy would have done little more than find out his Shikai's form... forms in the month since Byakuya had cut him down. This fight would still be entirely one sided.

"I suppose I must commend you, Ryoka. The _progress_ you have made in such a short time is truly impressive. Few officers of the Gotei 13 could achieve their Shikai in only a single month. But you are still 100 years to early to see my Bankai!" He sneered at the commoner in front of him. "Now; I will cut you down, before I catch my traitorous Lieutenant and execute him and my _Sister_ by my own hand."

"You are going to kill your sister..." Ichigo repeated, tone dangerously calm. "Is that what you just said? _Complacency _is one thing. To be able to _ignore _her being killed. I was going to put you six feet in the ground for that, anyway, but more because I owe you that much. But to actually _take_ her life?" Ichigo snarled. "For that; I'm going to tear you apart! I'm going to _obliterate _you." The man placed the tips of his blades against each other, and his eyes glowed electric blue as he focused his Reiryoku on the two. They melded together and formed into a, slightly larger, Khyber knife without the gap in the blade like that he had previously held in his right hand. Next, a plain, red hilted, katana appeared in his free, left hand.

"_Ignite, Sear and Incinerate. Rise from the ashes of those felled by your blade. Kikoo!_" The blade shuddered, glowed a brilliant orange, and grew rapidly. It morphed into the familiar, though in a far smaller scale, appearance of the Sokyoku when the execution tool had been sealed. It was a Nagitana with a dark grey, bordering on black, body and a gleaming head. The back of the blade itself was fire red, while the front was a shining silver.

"Hmm." Ichigo extended it, and gave an experimental swing; the air in its trail shimmered with heat, and Ichigo nodded. "Just to let you know, I don't have a lot of experience with Kikoo, so I'm going to give Zangetsu their satisfaction before I give her a turn." He flipped Kikoo over in his hand, and stabbed it into the ground, cutting through the rock like a _hot_ knife through butter. He drew back with the Khyber knife, and it began to glow a bright blue; his Reiatsu gathering inside the blade and condensing.

"Getsuga... Tensho!" A crescent of blue energy flew towards the Kuchiki clan leader, cutting through the ground in its path. The Captain, however, managed to move out of the way before the attack reached him, resulting in the only damage caused being that of a deep trench carved through the spot he had been in only seconds before.

"Getsuga Datsu!" A voice sounded from behind the effeminate captain. He spun in time to see another attack approaching him. This time, however, the arc had broken up; creating a barrage of smaller energy projectiles.

The Captain leapt aside once again, and avoided the vast majority of the fast moving, blue darts. Two of them did, nonetheless, graze his right arm, and Byakuya gave a pained hiss as they gouged a pair of troughs in his flesh.

"Tensho!" He vanished in a flash of Flash Step, as the first attack slammed into the ground from above.

"Datsu!" He vanished again, as a torrent of the smaller attacks passed through his after image.

"Tensho!"

"Datsu!"

'How much Spiritual Pressure does he have?' Ichigo had appeared once more, having had his attacks dodged, and barely seemed to be breathing more heavily than at the beginning of their bout. Byakuya, meanwhile, looked dishevelled. His arm was bleeding noticeably, and the dust brought up from the 'Tenshos' had coated his left side; he had only dodged the second by a narrow margin. The Noble narrowed his eyes at his opponent, frustrated.

"It's no fun if you don't fight back, Byakuya." Ichigo shouldered the Khyber.

"_Scatter, Senbonzakura._" Was the response he received. Ichigo raised an eyebrow as the sword split, becoming a cloud of 1000 smaller blades, looking like rose petals. He wasn't sure what the strength of them would be, but it was easy to find out.

"Getsuga Tensho!" The energy wave roared towards the cloud, in a test, and Byakuya looked shocked. The petals and the Reiatsu collided, and the result was obvious.

Byakuya's blades were scattered by the powerful attack, and Ichigo snorted.

"How's that supposed to beat me? If I can disperse them with a single attack?" Byakuya waved his, now sword-less, hilt, and the thousand tiny blades rocketed towards Ichigo.

"Getsuga Datsu!" Their were significantly less of Ichigo's projectiles, but the number coming at the ornage haired man was significantly decreased. Ichigo vanished in a blur of Shunpo, and appeared behind Byakuya mid-swing. Zangetsu passed through another after-image, and Ichigo scowled; having expected to at least _graze_ the Noble.

He raised his Khyber knife just in time to block a strike from his side, and his eyes met those of Byakuya. The Noble was soon unnerved, though, as Ichigo smirked.

"I think you're forgetting something." The smirk turned into a grin. "Kureata!" He barked, as his left hand, balled into a fist, _crunched _into his opponent's stomach. Blood sprayed from Byakuya's mouth, and he was thrown back in a daze.

"Hmm. You're more resilient than you look. That should have been a _real_ damaging hit." It was true, that attack concentrated all the energy that Ichigo could send in a projectile using Tabigarasu into the gauntlet itself. Although...

'**Hey, King? Why'd you hit him with a punch? Ya should've made the most of the claws, ya dummy.**'

Ichigo had gotten used to avoiding fatal shots with Tabigarasu; mainly in his training with Hat 'n' Sandals. It might be a good thing, since he didn't want this fight to be too short. Else he'd disappoint Kikoo and Nejibana. It was about time for the Kuchiki bastard to use his Bankai, though. After all; Ichigo didn't really know how to hold back with Kikoo yet.

That also explained the need for him to remove the clothing on his upper body, lest he roast himself with the immense heat.

The 6th squad Captain watched, helpless as he staggered to his feet, and saw Ichigo vanish only to appear next to the Nagitana buried in the blackened stone. His large, black blade vanished from his right hand in a burst of blue Reiatsu as his left gripped the shaft of Kikoo. The Human-Shinigami channelled a stream of Reiatsu into the Nagitana, and fire flickered on the base of the blade. It was rather... unspectacular when compared to Ryukin aka. Anyone who had seen the Sokyoku used, or had seen Yamamoto fight with his Shikai, would think the Shikai of Kikoo unimpressive.

Until Ichigo fought, that is.

Ichigo Kurosaki raised the Zanpakuto over his head; loosening the grip he had on the body of it as he spun the spear-like weapon in a smooth circle, getting used to the weight of the Shikai he had yet to actually hold.

The hybrid lowered the Nagitana, and the air around it rippled as he gripped it with his right hand, too. Drawing back, he spun his body; in a similar manner to what Nejibana had trained him in. Using a pole-weapon tended to be more of a gymnast like style than the brutal, harsh movements of the other three Zanpakuto. Of course, it would be difficult to use an ordinary Nagitana when you were trained in the use of a trident; one was a stabbing weapon, the other a cutting, but Nagitana's control of water depended on spinning and slashing her.

"Hono!" A wave of fire rushed towards Byakuya, and the man managed to right himself just in time to dodge in a burst of Shunpo. He appeared, seconds later, a hundred meters to the left. Ichigo appeared next to him a second later, with his pole-weapon raised. "Cha!" The air rippled as Kikoo dropped, and a burst of immense heat came from its head.

Ichigo saw the man appear again, his arm extended and the katana's tip pointed downwards.

"I will admit that I am surprised, Kurosaki. You have progressed _far _further than I thought possible. In fact, I would have shown you this already, had you relaxed the barrage of attacks. _Bankai_." The katana dropped, and sank into the ground, following which countless, giant blades appeared to raise from the ground behind the injured man and _scattered_ like that of his Shikai. Millions of the tiny blades now formed a massive, pink cloud above the pair.

"_Senbonzakura Kageyoshi._"

The pink crashed down on Ichigo, and Byakuya watched calmly as he was, certainly, killed.

"Ahhh. _That_ would have hurt. Cha." _Something_ slammed into the back of the Kuchiki head, and he was thrown forwards with his back feeling as though it was on _fire_. "Y'know... I'm a little annoyed. I _saw_ you when Kikoo came out to play. You underestimated her just 'cause she's not _flashy_. She ain't a _fire_ type of Zanpakuto. Otherwise she'd be a really shit execution method, wouldn't she? Cruel and unusual punishment includes burning them 'til death, after all. No, she controls _heat_. Of course, that includes fire to an extent, since heat can easily turn into fire, but it's the heat that'll kill ya." He smirked. "Well. It's the heat that _would've_ killed ya. If Nejibana didn't want a turn."

Ichigo wanted to try something out anyway. Something that he hadn't had much ability to practise, but that he'd gotten permission to experiment with, since it helped the Human-Shinigami get to know his partners better.

"_Ignite, Sear, and Surge, Boiling Waters and Heaven. Nejibana. Kikoo._" The Nagitana changed quite significantly in the time that it took for Byakuya to turn to face the Ryoka. Its shaft had changed to have blue twists and spirals running up the length, but the more obvious change was the strange trident-Ji that was now on the previously blunt end of the pole and the deep blue, horsehair tassel next to the three-pronged spear.

With a swing, Ichigo sent a torrent of frothing water at his standing, though hunched, opponent. This attack, however, was easy enough for Byakuya to block. His blades formed a wall of petals that the boiling hot water broke against.

Unfortunately, the Shikai produced more and more superheated water with each swing. And Ichigo was perfectly capable of swinging it repeatedly, meaning that Byakuya was forced to maintain this tactic of defence lest some of it get through and worsen his, already nearing broken, body's condition. That resulted in the long haired man missing the fact that Ichigo was approaching the wall of rose petals, drawing nearer to the defender with each wave of water.

As Ichigo reached the wall, he changed tact, channelled his reiatsu into increasing the heat, and gave a larger swing; a large cloud of steam shot forward, passing around the petals, and blinded his opponent. Slipping past the blades, Ichigo blurred forward and appeared in front of Byakuya with his curved blade drawn back to slash across the Kuchiki Noble's torso.

Byakuya, flinching back, managed to avoid too serious a blow, simply a long, thin slash that stung quite distractingly. In response, he raised his hands and the cloud sped towards Ichigo far faster than they had been so far.

"My bankai moves twice as fast when I choose to use my hands to direct the blades." The Captain stated, as Ichigo vanished in a flash of short-range shunpo. On reappearing, he dodged yet another strike, and swung his blade in wild blow, sending a wave of boiling water at the Captain, who now had little in the way of defence.

The attack connected, and Byakuya let out a gasp as the searing pain from his back doubled. This acted as a distraction that Ichigo easily capitalized on as he charged forwards, and stabbed forth with Nejibana's three prongs, the trident piercing Byakuya's right side, and then being pulled harshly back out of the man's torso. Byakuya took an uneven step backwards, then another, and dropped to a knee before struggling back up; only to be sent back to the floor by a fist slamming into his gut; another dribble of blood falling from his mouth.

"Why?" Ichigo questioned. "Help me understand _why_ you were going to kill your _sister_. It makes no sense to me." It really didn't. Ichigo would have died in a second to protect Yuzu or Karin, but this man was perfectly willing to kill Rukia with his own hand...

"The law..." Byakuya began, pushing himself back to his feet, a reformed Senbonzakura now lying a his feet. "Must be upheld above all else. When a criminal's sentence is announced, it must be fulfilled."

"You value _the law_ above the life of your own sister?" Ichigo hissed in response.

"Sympathy to one's relative... how pointless. Fortunately, I have never been burdened with such worthless sentiments. They matter not when compared to the law. The Kuchiki clan is one of the four great noble families. _We _are duty bound to serve as examples to all Soul Reapers; how could we enforce the law if we are not willing, ourselves, to obey them?"

"I don't understand that. In your place I would have torn down the government brick by brick rather than bend to such idiotic rules. I would fight the law and whatever it stood for if that was what it took!" The defeated man's eyes widened as Ichigo turned away with a scowl. "I don't feel any need to kill you any more. I don't like you; I just don't give a damn about your fate. But know this; if you come after Rukia again, I won't hesitate. I'll cut you down."

Ichigo vanished in a flash of Shunpo, and the Captain of Squad 6 fell to the ground, defeated.


	11. Sosuke Aizen

**Sorry about the delay. I was waiting to have all three of my stories ready, but one of the others has given me a case of writers block. That and my holiday.**

**This at least begins to address a couple of complaints about Ichigo having too easy a time.**

**Hope you all enjoy the chapter. I assure you I haven't given up on Savage.**

At the edge of the Sokyoku 'hill', though it was better described as a cliff than a hill, in his opinion, Ichigo Kurosaki stood, shirtless, with a scowl on his face. He really did not understand what was happening at this point. His senses, granted not the most reliable, were telling him something... weird. There were more fighters than would be logical; why the Soul Reapers were fighting each other, Ichigo had no idea. And even more than that...

"No. My senses must be on the fritz. Why on Earth would Renji and Rukia be behind me? They were just on the way to 13th Division's Barracks. I... aught to just head there." He murmured; knowing that the pair had no reason whatsoever to return to the site of Rukia's execution.

Yet he didn't go. Something felt... weird. Off. The best he could pinpoint the feeling was in regards to those other three.

It could be an echo of Rukia and Renji. But them... Three other signatures, ones he didn't know, were there with the two.

He didn't recognise them. So _why _would he be feeling them?

Just then, Ichigo heard something extremely unnerving. A female voice rang through the Seireitei. No, wait. Was it in his head? One that caused 5 blades, of varying sizes, to appear on his left hip as his scowl increased a helluva lot.

"All Captains, Lieutenants and Seated Officers of the Gotei 13, may I please have your attention? Also, the Ryoka. This is Lieutenant Isane Kotetsu, from the Fourth Division with an urgent announcement. Please listen closely, as the message will not be repeated. This is an emergency report from Captain Unohana regarding a traitor in our midsts. As unsettling as the following is, I am about to tell you the truth; Captain Aizen, former Captain of the 5th division, has committed high treason to an extent that has never been seen before. Central 46, the most important aspect of our government, has been slaughtered. Sosuke Aizen was assisted in this heinous crime by Captains Gin and Tosen..."

'… Well... Those _are_ three of the names I was given by Yoruichi.' Ichigo reasoned, since he didn't have much else to say on the subject.

'_But you have to consider, Ichigo, that this could well be a trap. It seems to be designed to get you to head back to the Sokyoku Hill._'

'Yes, but it seems unreasonable for those three to be so readily available, yet not have been here to witness Rukia's execution. I am sure that those who did attend did so because it was mandatory.'

'Rukia's there.' Ichigo stated, cutting off any potential retort from Zangetsu. 'I'm going.'

He rested his hand, which still had blood crusting it, atop the 5 blades that were now attached to the orange man's hip.

"_Savage, born from the chaos of the pierced planets, come forth! Puncture the boundaries between Earth and the realm of Heaven! Flood the heavens with the turmoil of felling fire! Tabigarasu! Zangetsu! Nejibana! Kikoo!_"

-()-()-()-()-

'**Ya've gotta give it to the Pineapple Head, King. He's tougher than I thought; to still be stood. He's lookin' after Rukia pretty well, too. Even if he failed pretty spectacularly in what he was meant to do.**'

'Yep. I agree with that. Impressive. But I guess I should intervene right about now, or the brown haired one with glasses, Aizen I'm guessing, will kill him.'

Not too far from the orange haired man, the three traitorous captains were entirely unaware of their one-man-audience. Ichigo's technique, while ill advised in most circumstances, made him virtually impossible to detect. Especially since Aizen believed him to possess uncontrollable reiatsu; like he would if he only possessed Zangetsu. But he had developed a crude method of Reiatsu manipulation a long while ago now.

"... I won't let him have you, Rukia." Renji growled, as he fought the pain racking his body. "You thought I'd give her up?" The red haired man tilted his head to look back up at Aizen. "Are you that _dumb_?"

"Very well. Too bad." Aizen replied, as he raised his Zanpakuto to cut Renji's arms from his body. Kyoka Suigetsu descended, and passed through... nothing.

The two were gone.

Aizen raised an eyebrow, and turned to the side to find Renji, kneeling still, several metres to the captain's right. Oddly, the Lieutenant had a more confused expression than the Captain he had escaped from.

Though that might be because the cause was now stood in front of Aizen, just a little out of the range of the man's Zanpakuto.

Ichigo stood, relaxed, in his usual attire minus any upper body clothing, except the _remnants_ of his bandages, in front of Aizen with a very much different weapon to what he had been wielding before now.

An obsidian staff, 6 foot long, was resting against Ichigo as he spoke to Renji, flicking his eyes to the pair.

"Are you really that weak Renji? That Rukia's too heavy for you to carry without looking like you've run a fucking marathon? I guess I was right about you needing my help." He turned his focus back to Aizen for a moment.

"Excuse me for just a second... whoever you are." Ichigo vanished, in a flash and the sound of static, before reappearing 3 seconds later in the same position. Though, this time, there were only 4 people on top of the 'hill'.

Ichigo had, combining the speed techniques of both Shinigami and Hollow in Shunpo and Sonido, moved Renji and Rukia as far away as he could in a single 'step'.

"There we go." Ichigo said, as he smirked at the hint of shock on his otherwise unemotive opponent's face. Obviously, Aizen had not expected a combination of the Hollow and Shinigami techniques. "Now; who the hell are you guys?" His eyes flicked from the brown haired, to the teal, and then to the longer darker brown.

"Kurosaki Ichigo... you are much further along than I had predicted you would be." Aizen commented. "In fact, I do believe that it is necessary that I engage you to find out the extent of... this." The traitor twisted his Zanpakuto in his grip and stepped forward quickly, swiping Kyoka Suigetsu across the orange haired human's torso. The staff blocked it, and the resulting _clang_ let Aizen know that it was made of _some kind_ of metal. Not that that made sense; such a staff would, logically, be too heavy to wield efficiently. Obviously though, since Ichigo was wielding it like it weighed nothing at all, that was not true for its wielder.

The brown haired man raised an eyebrow, and raised a single finger from his Zanpakuto.

"Hado #31: Shakkaho." A large ball of red energy slammed into Ichigo's chest, and sent him flying back. The orange haired man recovered mid flight, and Ichigo vanished again and appeared back on the ground, a slight burn on his chest. Ichigo lunged forwards, in a blur, and drew back the staff with both hands gripping one end of the pole. Blue Reiatsu gathered in the black staff.

"Getsuga..." Ichigo swung the staff in an overhead, vertical blow. "Kureata!"

And his target was gone. The end of the staff slowed upon realising this, but still tapped the rocky ground below. It cratered, reaching the feet of Gin and Kaname, and Ichigo dropped a little, since the ground was now significantly lower than it had been before. The Ryoka scowled, and swung his staff once more.

"Gah!" A wave of boiling water roared towards the other two men there, since Ichigo was annoyed with all three. They vanished from its path, and the wave moved by harmlessly. "Tss." He hissed; annoyed even further. It wasn't much fun fighting more than one person at once. Especially when all three were obviously skilled.

The action of taking his eyes from the 3 was unfortunate, however, when he knew nothing about the capabilities of his opponents. A blade skewered him, and blood sprayed.

Ichigo stared down at the vastly extended blade that was sticking through his back and out of his chest. What in Kami's name...

"Sorry, Lord Aizen. I was getting bored." The grinning, teal-haired man said, not sounding guilty whatsoever.

"*Sigh* That's fine, Gin. It would have been the inevitable ending no matter who dealt the blow." The blade retracted, turning back into the short, Japanese sword, and Ichigo dropped to one knee. "I suppose I should put him out of his misery." Aizen walked to the now kneeling man, and prepared to remove the head from his body.

"No..." Ichigo leapt at him, ignoring the blood that trickled from his mouth, and poured from his gut, and swung the staff at the traitor, aiming at Aizen's neck in a vicious strike. It connected, just barely, as Sozuke stepped away quickly. The tip grazed the front of his throat, and the traitorous Captain was shocked to find that it, somehow, drew blood.

"Hmm? How did a blunt weapon draw blood? Especially when wielded by one that I had calculated to be too weak to even draw blood from m-ugh!" The butt of the combined weapon slammed into the man's stomach, and Ichigo gave a grunt of exertion as a blade formed on the end of his staff and stabbed into the man he was against and seemingly outclassed by.

"Batsu... Sur-uh." His attack was interrupted, in a rather effective manner, as Gin's Zanpakuto stabbed through his gut once more, retracted in the blink of an eye, and Ichigo dropped to the ground, very nearly unconscious and bleeding _heavily._ The staff faded away and a single, black hilted and sheathed katana was left in its place.

"Sorry, Aizen-sama. I panicked." Gin said, grin not fading.

"No. No, you were right to intervene. Thank you, Gin." The brown haired man said, with a prominent frown on his usually slightly smug face. "Kaname; please remind me, once we get to Los Noches, that I need to keep an eye on Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Of course, Lord Aizen." The blind man nodded and the two walked off to the side, leaving Gin next to the 'unconscious' Rtoka.

The teal haired man heard an almost silent groan from the grounded figure, and his grin grew.

"Ah, ah, ah, Ichigo. You need to keep quiet and learn what you can 'bout what'll happen next. Ya don't stand a chance against Aizen like you are, after all." He wandered off to join his comrades, and Ichigo couldn't help but agree, largely, with the snake-like man's summary. But he still had a couple of tricks he'd use if he had to in order to save Rukia.

All of a sudden, Ichigo saw that the African-American man had vanished, and now a strange rope-like kido appeared in the spot he had just been standing. As the spell vanished, Ichigo was treated to an unpleasant sight. Renji's body, still alive but barely, dropped like a sack of potatoes and the orange haired man's brown eyes locked on to the violet orbs of Rukia Kuchiki, who gasped.

"Ichigo!" Tosen was replaced by Aizen, and Ichigo snarled as he lifted the girl, with ease, by her collar-thing.

"Oi, Aizen-sama. I think that Ichigo'll fight again if ya're too rough with her. I was under the impression that you'd want 'im alive to see what 'appens next with 'im."

"You're right, Gin. It would be a shame to see such... potential wasted. What do you propose I do?" He asked, diplomatically.

"Eh, I'd say let the girl live. 'S not like her death matters, right?" The brown haired man pondered this for a few seconds.

"Huh. I suppose you are correct, Gin. But I will, in this case, make things more interesting. Tell me, Ryoka, do you know why Kisuke Urahara helped you with this endeavour? Do you know why I am targeting Rukia Kuchiki?"

Ichigo grunted a negative.

"Did you know that there are 3 basic fighting methods of Shinigami? Zanjutsiu, Hakuda, Hoho and Kido? In those four, there is a limit for each in regards to how strong you can possibly grow. Once a Soul Reaper reaches that limit; he will have mastered it. That will be the end of his growth in that area. Once he reaches mastery in all four? He has reached his limit as a Soul Reaper. I cannot accept that, and so I must go _past_ that limit. To do that, there is only one way. The Soul Reaper has to become something more; a Hollow." Ichigo gave a slight twitch of recognition, and Aizen smiled. "Either that, or a Hollow can become a Soul Reaper. Either way, I must remove the barrier between those two opposing forces. That is the key to making the Spirit's power even greater. I began my research on this subject.

"I focused mainly on turning Hollows into Shinigami. I came close, but never truly succeeded. One such example, I believe you are familiar with, based on the Zanpakuto I saw you wielding earlier. It was able to break Zanpakuto and combine with other Soul Reapers." Two growls came in return, but Aizen ignored their anger. "It was a shame that all I got back was the Hollow's corpse, he was ever so promising after all. But even with that, I was able to find a use. Even with that, it appeared that the theory was destined to be only that. Never a reality. But another succeeded where I had failed. Kisuke Urahara.

"I assume you remember the fact that the Gigai Rukia wore for so long was provided by him, yes? I thought so. He created a device that would turn one to the other, instantly removing the barrier between Hollow and Shinigami. Hogyoku. The man tried to destroy it, knowing it could be extremely dangerous, but he was unable to do so. Instead, he reluctantly turned to another solution. He built a shield around the Hogyoku, and embedded it deep inside a Gigai. Rukia's Gigai. When she entered, the device was transferred into her soul, and became tied to her energy. When hers faded, so would the Hogyoku. And then he set to work on the Gigai. Changing it to sap the Spiritual Pressure instead of restore it was simple for a man such as Urahara. It had to devour the Soul Reaper's energy in order to function; as he built it without Reishi. Eventually, the Shinigami would be reduced to a mere Human, and the Hogyoku would vanish." He turned to the girl in his grip.

"Do you understand? You would have soon lost all of your Shinigami powers, and become that which you masqueraded as. Kisuke Urahara gave you no strength. He used you, Rukia Kuchiki. He effectively turned you human, just so that he could hide his own invention. It is fortunate you were brought to the Soul Society when you were. In a way, you could say that I am saving you. You will be able to recover soon once I remove the Hogyoku from your body, and you will be able to fight as a Soul Reaper once more. Do not worry." He said, in a reassuring tone. "I won't harm you." His hand raised to the inside of his Haori, and...

"AIIIZEEEN!" A... Soul Reaper, for Ichigo wasn't sure he could be called a man, roared as he appeared behind the Traitorous Captain, and a massive blade crashed down on the unsurprised man.

-90-90-90-

"It has been a long time since you have shown your face, Sajin." Aizen commented to the wolf-faced man. "Why the sudden change of heart? Does something ail you?" He put on a faux-concerned tone as he asked the second question.

"Aizen... How dare you stand there, nonchalant like that, Aizen?" Komamura growled at his ex-comrade as the man held his Zanpakuto steady with a single hand. "You have betrayed all of us! You cannot be forgiven!" He turned his focus to the blind Soul Reaper behind Aizen. "Nor will you... Kaname!" The man drew back, and held his blade steady.

"Bankai!" A massive samurai rose above the Captain, as Ichigo watched Aizen walk to stand in front of the Wolf-Man, who didn't react whatsoever, until a look of shock came over his face, and Komamura froze.

"Hado #90: Kurohitsugi." A massive, black box appeared around the massive Captain, and spikes seemingly formed. stabbing into the coffin that now encased Sajin. The tomb vanished, and the, now bloodied, wolf fell to the ground. "Kyoka Suigetsu's hypnosis is flawless. But even if it had a flaw, you would stand no chance against me."

'Woo..." Gin began, with a grin. "Hado #90; that's some scary stuff. Especially without incantation."

"But it is incomplete." Aizen replied. "That was but a third of its destructive power." He walked to Rukia. "Now the, I do need to finish this rather quickly." The man drew an odd-looking green tube from his pocket. "This is another of Urahara's inventions. It makes sense; he is the master of storing things in souls, after all." Ichigo didn't see what Aizen did, but a cloud of smoke rose from the object, and wrapped around the man's arm. When it dissipated, the skin was covered by dark green scales, and Aizen looked at it with a look of slight interest. "Hmm. Well, Rukia, I would recommend holding still. I wouldn't want to make a mistake."

Aizen's hand thrust forwards, passing through Rukia's torso before it was quickly pulled back out. A hole, caused by the hand, instantaneously closed, and Aizen nodded, expecting as much.

"How fascinating... I didn't expect it to be so small." He looked at something in his hand, and continued. "The Hogyoku." He looked on the kneeling girl with what seemed to be a sad frown. "I am sorry, but as I was doing that... something occurred to me. I need young Kurosaki to want revenge on me. If it is only a matter of his own health... I cannot be sure." He spoke softly to her, and turned to face Ichigo.

"Bakudo #30: Shitotsu Sansen!" A triangle of light pinned Ichigo to the ground, as Aizen continued. "Relieve Rukia of one of her limbs, Gin."

"If I must." The man continued to grin, and raised his sword. "_Shoot to kill, Shinso!_" The blade extended in the blink of an eye, as Ichigo gave a yell of shock and anger, and _shot_ at Rukia, aiming to maim the short Soul Reaper. With a gasp, the blade hit, and stabbed into the body of a Shinigami, but an instant later everybody saw that it was not the one the snake had intended.

"Onii-sama... No..." Rukia gasped, as she saw her rescuer.

'**Heh. I guess he's got some good in 'im after all.**' Hichigo, along with his fellow spirits, was glad that the Reaper-girl wasn't hurt. Ichigo would shoulder the blame himself if she had indeed lost a limb. That _began_ to redeem Byakuya in their King's eyes.

Aizen watched with a mild expression of shock, until his attention was drawn upwards by a strangely shaped shadow rapidly growing larger.

"_Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle! Hado #62 Raikoho!_" Ichigo's mouth twisted into a, slightly pained, grin. He would have recognised that voice anywhere. Unfortunately, he was a little preoccupied at that moment, and so their reunion would have to wait.

"Don't move, Aizen." Another familiar tone came from where Aizen appeared to avoid the colossal yellow blast, and Ichigo saw a dark-skinned, purple haired woman and a smaller, black haired and light skinned Soul Reaper both positioned to attack Aizen. One with a drawn back foot and leg, the other with a small-ish Zanpakuto placed against his throat.

"Or we're going to cut off your head." Soi Fon finished Yoruichi's statement, pressing Suzembachi against the traitor's throat for emphasis.

"Yes, I can see that." Aizen said in response, still wholly calm.

"Kukaku!" Yoruichi called, with a grin. "Good to see you got my message."

"That's right! Now. where's this Ichigo-guy you were bragging about?" Wait, Ichigo saw her at an angle. Had she... lost an arm? No. No way.

"Bragging? I wouldn't call it bragging, I just thought you two aught to meet."

"It sounded a lot like braggin' to me."

"Lady Yoruichi; do you not think there could be a better time for you to have this conversation?"

"Yeah, I guess so, Little Bee."

"Wow. That was flashy." Gin grinned. "Now what should I do?"

"You shouldn't even move." The Lieutenant of Squad 10 hissed, appearing behind the teal-man and placed her blade under his chin.

"Sorry, Captain Aizen. It looks like I got _caught_." At the same time, a different Lieutenant, who Ichigo didn't know, appeared behind Tosen, and had him in a similar position.

"You're done, Aizen." Yoruichi growled.

"Hmm? Did you say something?"

"You're caught. There's no where left for you to run." More appeared, including the 'big three' captains, gathered around Aizen's still form. "It's over, Aizen." The 'trapped' man chuckled. "What's so funny?"

"I am sorry to have to do this, but the time has come for us to leave."

"Soi Fon, move!" The two vanished in flashes of Shunpo, as a yellow light enveloped Aizen. Above the battlefield, a tear opened in the sky, showing dozens of giant Hollow masks. Three Menos Grande looked down, and a golden light shot down at each of the traitorous captains, forming a tube, of sorts, around the three.

"No way..." The fat man that Ichigo had easily defeated twice now mumbled.

"How many are there?" A sunglasses wearing man uttered.

"What is that?" The man that had been holding Tosen asked, spying what looked to be a purple, closed eye.

The three captains were very effectively cut off from the others present, but Gin had to make one last comment to his ex-captor.

"Well, that's a shame. I was having fun being your captive. So long, Rangiku." He said, not turning to look at the girl as he did so. A chunk of rock beneath each of the traitors rose, carrying them upwards towards the tear in the sky.

"You're just going to run away?! That's it?!" The Lieutenant of the still downed wolf-captain exclaimed as he drew his Zanpakuto.

"Don't!" The oldest being present barked. "That light is from the Negacion. It is a technique used by Hollows rescue their comrades from any situations they cannot win. It is impenetrable, and any attempt will backfire spectacularly on the one that tries. As soon as they were surrounded by that light, it became impossible for us to reach them." The end of his teaching was punctuated by a _thump_ as Komamura, now kneeling, slammed his fist into the ground with frustration.

"Kaname! Get back here, Kaname! Have you forgotten?! You once told me _why_ you became a Soul Reaper! Was it not for the sake of your friend? The one who died! To carry out your justice? Where is your sense of justice now?! Because I cannot see it!"

"My eyes can only see one path. That path is the one with the least bloodshed. My path _is_ justice." Their conversation ended there, as Ukitake stepped forwards, and spoke to the ringleader.

"You have joined with the Menos? Why?"

"I must continue to improve. To evolve. This is the only way that I can."

"You cannot have become that... insane, can you?"

"You are blinded by your self-righteousness. Since the beginning, nobody has truly stood at the top. Not you. Not me. Not even the _gods_. Soon, though," He removed his glasses, and swept his hair back in a sleek style. "That vacancy will be filled. From now on, I will climb higher than any before me. I will stand at the top." He looked down at them, his eyes resting specifically on Ichigo. "Goodbye, Soul Reapers. And goodbye... Ryoka boy. Even I must admit that, for a human, you are rather _fascinating_." The three vanished through the hole.

"Now that that arrogant Bastard is gone, is somebody going to get this blasted thing off me?!" Ichigo exclaimed, growing more and more annoyed with being pinned to the ground and wanting, very much, to be free again.


End file.
